Friends in Warfare
by thebladeofchaos
Summary: Inspired by Warrior of Art by Lorze the Brookes. I've been through hell here. I have had to leave my old life behind and just...adjust to this new world of constant war. this is the tale of the promise I made many years back...about how I would keep us all safe...about how we delved into hell itself. I am going to make it through this in one piece...
1. prologue

This is a self insert, but I've tried to do a friend of mine's personality too.

Prologue: chance encounter?

I sat in class, listening to the boring lectures about how when you factorise quadratic equations, you get two linear equations made by my maths teachers, the rest of the class of twenty nine were bored to death about being taught the same thing about fifty times, I wasn't really paying any attention, it was last lesson on Friday and I just wanted to go home.

"Now that you have this equation what can you do with it, Craig?" he asked. I was surprised that he had picked me, but then again I wasn't really paying any attention, all I saw on the board was the usual '(X+2)(X-3)', it didn't have the other rubbish you would usually have before it And I was good at improvising.

"First off you get X squared by X times X, you then get minus X by 2x minus 3x, and -6 though 2 times minus 3, so it ends up as X squared – X – 6" I answered.

"Even though your right Craig, pay attention next time" my teacher, Mr Trevor replied, thank god I was right, or I would have been a laughing stock for a while.

The bell then rang out the school day, everyone in the room started packing away, putting books in bags and pens in pockets, each excited that it was finally 3:40.

"Homework is to work out the questions on the paper that was handed out earlier" Mr Trevor said, I barely heard him over the noise of chairs scraping along the floor and people talking. I was one of the last out, catching up to my friends Simon and Sarah, who were right next door.

"How was your class then?" I asked.

"It was quite fun really" Sarah replied

"I hated it" Simon said "What about you?"

"It went quite well actually, but I can't wait to get home" I answered.

"Well, I've gotta go, see ya after the weekend"

"See ya Simon" Me and Sarah said at the same time.

Simon ran out of the school, we both knew he lived nearby so he was lucky that he could walk straight there. Me and Sarah, however, lived further away. We had to wait for our parents to come and pick us up, so we went to library, doing crosswords in the paper and reading a few books, I had managed to find a mirror on the way there, taking my tie off and undoing some buttons on the monkey suit they called a uniform, my brown hair was standing on end for some reason, and my normally brown eyes were focusing a lot more then usual.

I started to wonder when her dad would get here and pick her up, and then I thought about when my mum would get here and pick me up, I placed my mobile on the table to the side of the paper. Just in case she would ring or text me. Sarah did the same, keeping an eye on it in case her dad did the same.

After about an hour, I started wondering whether they had forgotten about us. Mum was never this late and Sarah was always away from school by 4:10, I then started a conversation with her, thinking that maybe something intelligent from her would pass the time.

"So, what do you plan to do when you get home?" I asked, she looked up at me, surprised that someone had broken the silence.

"Planning my wedding" She answered.

"You're planning your wedding at 15?"

"It pays to be prepared"

"I thought you had given up on him a while ago" I said, meaning a boy called Jim in our year; he had broken her heart three times.

"I know, but I'm not giving up, my heart tells me to go on" I sighed at this, there is just no getting though to some people, everyone was telling her to give up on him, but she always said about listening to her heart, I never understood what she meant by this.

"Well, just remember. I'm here for you if you need me"

"Thanks Craig"

I looked back at the paper, struggling on a word; she raised the courage to ask the question.

"What do you plan to do when you get back?" She asked, I looked at her, surprised as she didn't normally ask. She never surprised me before, well, apart from getting her short ginger hair changed to wavy black hair. Her eyes stood out to me though, they were jade green, a nice shade to me.

"Probably the homework and afterwards probably see what a friend of mine is doing"

"Which friend?"

"You know that Jacqueline I keep going on about? She was on about a beach party and I was thinking of going"

"Give her my regards will you"

"Certainly"

The conversation then stopped there, after another half hour, I was worried, Mum is never this late, my brother would have left by now and I'm sure Sarah's dad would have been here by now, but still nothing. Even the teachers and librarians had left by now.

"Sarah" I said, standing up and grabbing my bag.

"Yeah Craig" Sarah said, copying me, she was obviously more worried then me.

"Something's wrong"

"What do you mean?"

"Our parents would have been here by now, don't you think"

"Your right, but how do you know they aren't stuck in traffic?"

"One and a half hours late, I don't think they would be"

"Well, what do we do?"

"May as well walk round, get some exercise" I said, walking out of the room and leaving though the door of reception. Sarah followed me, she was quite scared that she might have to walk home and it was getting quite dark now.

We walked out into the night air, the lights were on, thank god, the night was quite strange, normally when I had been around school at night I could hear loads of vehicles for miles around, but tonight…nothing. Not a sound apart from our footsteps and breathing. Everywhere was deserted, not a soul in sight.

"What is going on?" I said, we were then both freaked out by our mobiles going off at the same time, mine had the old tune that just kept on going, her ring tone was 'walking in Memphis' I then thought why I hadn't gotten photograph as my ring tone. We both looked at the caller ID, oddly enough it was the exact same number, 3962679, neither of us knew who it was so we both answered.

"Hello" I said, half expecting some prank from someone, I couldn't exactly hear Sarah's conversation, but I heard her say hello.

"Am I speaking to a Craig Appleby?" the voice on the other end of the phone line said, he sounded old and wise.

"You are" I answered, half expecting it to be one of my grandparents now

"Keep an eye on your girlfriend" He said, then ending the phone call. I put the phone away, wondering who it was. More importantly, she wasn't my girlfriend.

Sarah had ended her conversation at around the same time, doing the same thing, we both turned to each other, both confused at the phone calls; her face showed the panic.

"What did you hear?" I asked.

"Some old man told me to prepare for something" she replied

"I was told to keep an eye on you"

We then heard a bang on the roof behind her, we moved our gazes towards it and saw a man dressed in white with what looked like an upside down lampshade on his head, a purple tattoo on his right eye was the most distinguishing feature. I moved in front of Sarah, just in case he tried to kidnap her or attack us, I didn't want her injured.

She was scared, I was as well, but refused to show it, I didn't want to give her even more reason to be scared. We just stared at the man, and he just returned our gaze.

"Who are you and what do you want?!" I yelled at him.

"Craig, don't provoke him" Sarah said, timidly.

The stranger just stood there, looking at us in a weird manner, something about him seemed familiar; I just couldn't figure it out. I looked at his clothes, they looked like simple cloth, and then they were outdated by a few centuries, I had read about people wearing clothes like his in history books. What was it? Oh yeah, in roman times.

"Well, who are you?!" I yelled, this time he answered me.

"I wondered when I would find the two descendants" he said, me and Sarah just looked at each other, wondering what the hell he was on about. We looked back at him.

"What are you on about?" Sarah asked.

The man didn't replied, he pulled out five cards; each one was red with a weird symbol on the side I could see, illuminated by the orange light of the lamppost. He muttered a few words and the cards spread out in a star pattern, a light spread between them making a pentagram between them. A beam of light came down to the ground from each card, then they sent out more light towards each other, like bars.

"Nice light show" Sarah said, getting a bit of her will back, and she tried to leave the prison of lights. When she walked into a 'bar', she yelped in pain and went back to being behind me.

Now I will admit, I was shit scared, this wasn't some cheap trick with lights and mirrors; this was the real deal.

"Let's us out of here!" I ordered, I had a feeling that I knew the answer.

"I'm sorry, Craig, but you must stay, for a world awaits you" he answered.

After he had finished, he said a few weird words that I had never heard before, when he was finished, a hole opened up in the floor beneath us, both of us were yelling and falling, into what we would only know when we arrived there, the only problem with this was that I lost consciousness. If death awaited us, then at least I wouldn't feel the impact.


	2. arrival

Chapter one: arrival

_Sometimes, I wonder if it all could have been avoided, but then again, we were in a foreign land. Heh, in more ways then one_

I woke up with drips of water falling on my forehead, which was the first odd thing. The second being that when I opened my eyes I was in a cave, I sat up, shaking my head to make sure this wasn't a dream, I grabbed my head to a throbbing pain stemming from there.

I looked at my arm, seeing that a leather wrist thing had been put on it, coloured red with a dragon on it, the underside was just the loops to hold it on and protect the arteries on my arm, I looked at my other arm, seeing an identical one, and my arms had gotten way more muscle.

I looked further down, seeing my body had been though the same changes, my chest was ripped with muscle, as were my legs. My clothes had changed a lot, instead of the old monkey suit of a uniform, I'm wearing a chest plate of some kind with my right arm given more defence from a shoulder guard, even a bit of cloth underneath it, and my right 'breast' was coloured red. I looked at my legs, seeing and feeling simple leather trousers and boots which were black with straps, and even a belt with a dragon on it.

"Ok, this day just keeps getting weirder by the minute" I said to myself, I then remembered about Sarah, she was involved as well, I looked round the cave, seeing a girl lying next to me, she had short black hair with a flower in it. She was wearing a green top with the yellow over her breasts, she had two armguard on, these were like mine, except for covering the back of her hands, coloured green. She also wore green trousers with a golden sash, worn like a belt and the excess down her front, and a pair of boots, black, like mine, except shorter and with a red strip down the side. A blade of some kind and a pentagonal shield were next to her. The blade has two golden wings spreading from the hilt.

"It's got to be her" I said, I looked round, wondering whether I had a weapon at all, I found one to my right, annoyingly it was a broadsword with a golden bit going a small way along the blade, the hilt was green, big enough for both my hands to hold it, and a golden rounded end. Why couldn't I have a spear? Not that I have anything against swords, I just prefer spears, I then noticed a puddle of water near me, I crawled over to it, wondering what my face looked like.

What I saw shocked me, it wasn't me I was looking at, I didn't see my old ugly mug, what I saw was basically what you would call a warrior. It was masculine as hell. My eyes were still brown, thank god, something has kept the same and someone had put a red bandana on my head.

I then heard some groaning behind me, I looked at it to see the girl waking up, she basically did the same thing as me, looking at herself, checking out what had and hadn't changed. She saw her weapon, picking it up and examining it, she then saw me and was shocked.

"Craig?" she asked, the surprise evident in both her face and voice.

"Sarah?" I replied, the same surprise evident.

"What has happened to us?"

"I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised that the man in white is responsible"

"So you two are awake" the old man's voice echoed, we turned round and him. I grabbed the broadsword while Sarah grabbed her blade; I think it was a rapier and quickly put her shield on.

"What have you done to us?" I asked before falling over from the massive weight of the blade.

"I have only awakened your second lives"

"What second lives?" Sarah asked, I managed to get back up and put the broadsword along the ground so that it didn't drag me over.

"You two are warriors from the beginning of the war, born in 185 ad"

"Whoa, slow down, old man, what are you on about, we were born in 1992 ad, for us to be in the age your talking about we would have to have time travelled or have been here in the first place" I retorted.

"Like I said, your second lives, you two are Craig and Sarah, and yet not Craig and Sarah if you catch my drift"

"Well, who are you anyway?"

"My name is Zuo Chi. I have been charged to watch over this land and make sure that the descendants are found"

"Descendants?" Sarah asked

"Why do I get that ominous feeling that he is going to say…" I start

"You two are the legendary descendants" Zuo Chi and me both said at the same time, at which me and Sarah both laughed at.

"This is no laughing matter" Zuo Chi sternly said, me and Sarah both stopped laughing and paid attention. "This is war, you guys have no choice but to join, if you don't, then the world will fall into ruin"

"How do we know that it won't happen if we join in?" I asked

"I watch over the land, and you two are meant to be here."

"That doesn't really answer me, but I think I'll just leave it there" I looked at Sarah, she still had her weapon pointed at him, I walked over to her, dragging my broadsword along with me, I put my hand on her arm and lowered it.

"Listen you two, my time is short here, and you two need to enlist"

"Enlist for what?" Sarah asked, but he then vanished in a purple cloud of smoke without answering

I looked at Sarah; she was still as scared as hell at what had happened, I walked up to her, seeing the fear in her eyes, she had dropped the rapier, silently oddly enough, I hugged her, wondering whether she was going to break down in tears.

She did, she cried her eyes out and hugged me back, she wanted to go home, so did I, but I was more used to being away from home without my family but I don't think she has ever been this far away from home for so long. I looked further round the cave, seeing two magnificent sheathes, one was golden and big enough for my broadsword, and the other was silver, long and thin enough for her rapier.

"Look Sarah, I'm worried as well, but we have to stick together for now, neither of us know where we are, but maybe, just maybe, we can find a way home" I said, trying to comfort her, she managed to fight back the tears and nod, we both let each other go, getting the sheathes and putting the blades away. Sarah strapped her sheath along her waist, while I strapped mine to my neck and waist, with the blade along my back.

"So, while we're here, what should we call ourselves?" I asked in a relaxed way.

"Why not use our normal names?" She asked, I actually didn't see a problem with this.

"Well, we're in China; we could see what they think of us when we tell them our names"

"Ok, but first off, we may as well get out of this cave" she said, she had her shield strapped to her arm, smart idea.

We both walked out of the cave, heading towards the only light we could find. After a while, we felt a cool wind blow though the cave, bringing along with it some rain, we left the cold cave behind us and walked out into daylight.

I think both of us were still shocked by what had transpired, when we left it was a cold winters evening in England, now it was raining in China, we looked round, we were on a hill nearby a long river which a village had been built nearby to the west, to the east were vast plains, to the north were more hills and to the south was a bridge.

If what Zuo Chi had said was correct, then this must have been what the land was like before the industrial age that crippled it, I was in awe of the surroundings, wondering what we would need the weapons for. I looked at Sarah, hoping that she had recovered from the shock.

She was looking north, I didn't know what at, but I looked as well, about ten people were running up to us, eight were armed with spears, with plate armour coloured brown, while the other two were armed with long swords, each had thicker, more fancy armour, they looked stronger then the other two as well.

"Well, look what we have here, Zu Huang" one of the swordsmen spoke, I somewhat felt threatened by his presence. "A boy who wants to be a soldier and his sister"

"How dumb does Wu think we are, Cai Mao?" the other one continued

"Wu?" I asked, the soldiers all looked at me, as if I should have known about it.

"Please, we're lost and don't know where we are" Sarah pleaded. The soldiers didn't seem impressed by her excuse.

"Well, I guess we could help you find where you belong" The one called Cai Mao said, he walked up to Sarah in an arrogant manner, then held her head in one hand. "You should follow me; you deserve to be in my bed chambers"

"Sorry, mate, but leave her alone" I said, removing his hand and getting in between them.

"Craig, they scare me" Sarah said.

"How dare you speak to me like that!" he said, I could tell he was getting angry.

"Now, Cai Mao, calm down" the other one, who I assumed was named Zu Huang.

"Don't try that with me, boy, one I'm not your mate, and two, I'm an officer to your rank of commoner"

"Well, you don't try that with my friend, you shit head." I said, keeping calm, Sarah was still hiding behind me; I noticed out the corner of my eye that she had her hand on the rapier.

"That it is, first you interrupt a friendly conversation between me and your lady and then you insult me. You two are from Wu aren't you?"

"We don't even know what Wu is" Sarah replied.

"Honestly, we aren't from Wu" I echoed.

"Come on lads, let's get these spies!" Cai Mao yelled, Zu Huang stayed back, putting his sword in a sheath.

I drew my broad sword and held it along the mud; Sarah got out her rapier and stood with the shield in front of her. We both knew we had to fight our way out of this, but we had never taken a life before.

The soldiers were the first to make a move; they charged us, spears pointing straight at us, they had spit up into two groups of four and split themselves between us. We couldn't stick together, or else one of us would be the next item over the barbeque.

We both looked at each other and nodded, Sarah went one way, I went the other, hoping to draw them away from each other. They kept heading towards there intended targets, however, Cai Mao had joined the group heading towards Sarah. I didn't exactly have time to think about this for several reasons.

One, the enemy was upon me and I had to fight back; Two, I have no experience what so ever with weapons; Three, this weapon was very heavy; and four, I had never killed any one before in my life.

I swung my weapon wildly, hoping to at least hold them back; I hit a few of the spears, taking two spear heads off, lucky, they immediately stopped, standing back so that they weren't killed, I kept my blade swinging, moving in a circle. I think I hit them as I felt the blade jerk.

I managed to stop for a second and look at what I hit, one of the soldiers was down on the ground; I could see he was still breathing. That just left the fourth guy. He just kept on going; he swung his spear round, which I blocked with my blade; the satisfying ching of steel on steel afterwards gave me a slight adrenaline rush. He swung his spear in a high arc; I kneeled down and raised my blade to block, another ching of steel on steel as the spear hit the blade.

I looked at the soldier, thinking that he had left himself a bit exposed; I took one hand off the blade and punched the guy in the chest. He let his spear go as he winced in pain, winded; I got back up and kicked his head, knocking him out cold. I looked over to Sarah, she was using that rapier of hers to devastation effect, as if she had used it for years, but instead of killing them, she whacked them over the head with her shield.

"You ok?" I asked her, she ran over to me, wondering whether I was injured, checking all over me. "I'm ok, are you?"

"I'm fine" she answered, I was relieved at that, then I remembered that we still had a disgruntled man to deal with. I looked round, seeing him about to swing the blade at her back; I pushed her out of the way and blocked the sword with my own. He looked surprised and angry at this.

"Just…" he started, slamming his blade down again, I felt the force throughout my body. "Give…" he continued, slamming his blade down a third time; the force was so great that I had to go down on one knee in order to block it. "UP!" he finished, he slammed the blade down a forth time; this time I blocked it, but dropped my sword in the mud.

"Why should I?!" I shouted, I rolled out the way of a fifth slash, doing a sweep kick to knock him down. Somehow it connected and he landed face first onto the mud, I then kicked his head, just to make sure he stayed down.

I picked up my broadsword, using the rain to clear off what mud I could, restoring it to its pristine shine. I walked up to Sarah, who was still on the ground, helping her up, somehow the mud hadn't stuck to her like it did to the sword, we both looked at the last soldier, Zuang Hu, both of us getting back into our stances. We were then surprised when he started clapping us.

"Very good, very good, what are your names?" he asked us.

"I'm Sarah, he's Craig" Sarah answered, putting her rapier away.

"Those names don't sound very…Local"

"Well, you never now who could turn up, now do you?" I retorted, putting the broadsword away.

"Have you two ever fought before?

"Never" we both answered at the same time, we then looked at each other, wondering what he was leading up to.

"Hmmm well, how about joining the army? Huang Zu is looking for soldiers in the fight against Wu"

"What is this 'Wu'?" I asked.

"You really don't know do you? What are you two, hermits?"

"Yeah, Hemits united" I answered sarcastically.

"Well, either way, Wu is a rising power in the west, which is in the south western area of the land, their leader, Sun Ce, is heading this way to get revenge on Huang Zu after he killed the head of the Sun clan, Sun Jian"

"So basically, the battle is a defensive against the forces of Wu"

"Correct, and Sun Ce isn't called the little conqueror for nothing, I wouldn't be surprised if we lose here"

"Well, take us to the camp, may as well do what we can" Sarah replied, I looked at her, wondering if she had lost it.

"Wonderful, follow me then, leave them here, they can join us later" Zuang Hu said, he turned round and started walking north, I put my blade away and then we both followed him.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked her. "Neither of us are any good in battle, we can't fight that well and they is a chance we could die"

"You heard Zuo Chi earlier right, if we don't join in, then we effectively doom the world, we may as well join in this war where possible" she answered.

"Well… I can't say I like it, but I guess I can see your point, but just remember something would you"

"What would that be?"

"Just remember, what ever happens I will do my best to protect you"

"And I shall do the same" Sarah then gave me a quick hug, which I returned, all we had in this world were the things we carried and each other.

_Sometimes, I think we should have just killed them and joined Wu straight away._

* * *

Later on in the story, you will know what the italics are about.


	3. river master

Chapter 2: the river master

_Nice to know we had somewhere to stay to get out of the rain at the time, and that was when we met him._

We followed Zu Huang into what appeared to be a fortress, the rain had lightened a bit, but it was still pouring it down. I looked at Sarah, she was using her shield as a sort of umbrella; it didn't really help though. I didn't mind the rain though, a little shower never hurt.

Eventually, I heard the sounds of people laughing and the occasional sound of steel on steel. We walked towards it, seeing a building of some kind. Zu Huang opened the door for us; I went in first, closely followed by Sarah; and Zu came through last; closing the door behind him.

We were in a mess hall of some kind, soldiers were all over the place getting food and talking about family back home and what they wanted to do after their service. A table at the back was full of people wearing fancier armour and clothes than the rest so I immediately assumed they were a higher rank than the rest, maybe generals or some high ranking officers.

Looking around, there was one person who caught my attention. He had black, spiky hair tied up with a red bandana and two feathers sticking out of it. He didn't wear a shirt so I could see the muscles and tattoos all over him. He had red trousers on and a sash to keep them on. He wore bells for some reason.

"If I may suggest you two might go to do something…" Zu Huang Stated, both me and Sarah looked at him. "Go over to Huang Zu and join up, he is looking for good soldiers to help out and maybe this is the best time to show what you can do"

"Thanks Zu, we will do that" Sarah replied.

I think the whole room noticed us talking to their officer as everyone stopped talking, we both looked round the room, and everyone except the person I saw before was looking at us, seeing our weapons and clothing. We both walked over to the officers, seeing that each one was as interested as the soldiers.

"Which one of you is Huang Zu?" I asked, one of the officers, wearing a turban round his head with what looked like leather armour, stood up, eyeing us both.

"I am, and you two are?" he said.

"Enlisting"

"Your names"

"I'm Craig"

"I'm Sarah" she said, the whole hall seemed to burst out in laughter at the names, I could see why actually, as they weren't local names, but then again, I've heard worse names, I think the only people in the hall, apart from me and Sarah, that weren't laughing were Zu Huang and the person from before.

When they eventually stopped laughing, Huang Zu motioned us to follow him, which we did do, he led us out of the hall back out into the pouring rain, showing us the rest of the area, basically the only building in this fort was the hall, everyone lived in a tent in the area, he led us to a big tent which I assumed was his personal tent.

He walked in, followed by me and Sarah, the tent was quite big, big enough for us to stand in, he had a table in here, with three chairs round it. You know, forget what I said about this being a tent, it's more like a canvas bungalow with one big room.

He produced a document from his uniform, passing it to us, it was in what I assumed was Chinese, shame neither of us had bothered to learn Chinese before now.

"Sorry, my lord, but we can't read it" I said, bowing.

"What do you mean 'you can't read it'? Your speaking the language, aren't you?"

"Well…err"

"We learned how to speak it, but not how to read it" Sarah answered, it was a pretty convincing lie.

"Ahh, illiterates, well, it basically says that you join this force as officers under Gan Ning and that you change your names"

"What to?"

"Craig, you shall be known as Fu Xi, after the great god. Sarah, you shall be known as Nu Wa, his sister and great goddess"

"We aren't related you know" I replied

"I know, but I would be great for morale to know that we had the god's name sakes on our side"

"You want us to change our names for morale!" I shouted, slamming the table with my fists.

"Relax, it could be worse, and it will be fun" A voice behind us said. We turned round and saw that guy from before.

"And you are?" I asked.

"Ah, Gan Ning, just the soldier I was looking for" Huang Zu said, Gan was carrying a long, wide, black sword with him.

"Gan Ning?" I asked, thinking that Gan would have looked a bit more…respectful.

"That's right, the river master himself" Gan said.

"So, Gan, could you put up with me and Sarah in your unit"

"Sure, it could be fun. I've just heard what happened between you two and Cai Mao"

"What are you going to do about it?" Sarah asked, putting her hand on her weapon.

"Nothing, I like strong fighters, now, if you two don't mind, could you sign that form"

"On one condition" Both me and Sarah said at the same time, I guess we both wanted the same thing so I let her speak.

"One condition each" Huang said.

"You say yours first" I told Sarah, she nodded.

"In front of the soldiers, I go by the name of Nu Wa, but in private, I go by the name of Sarah, alright" she said

"Deal, and your condition, Craig"

"Mine's practically the same, but with my name instead of hers and Fu Xi instead of Nu Wa" I answered.

"Just sign the form and that's the deal, to the enemy, you shall be known as your god names"

Sarah signed the form first, putting down her initials, I copied her, putting mine down as well, and Huang took the form and put it into his uniform.

"Gan Ning, show them to their tents and settle down for the night" Huang ordered.

"If it's ok my lord, I would like to give the soldiers a show first. May we borrow the wooden inventory?" Gan answered

"Whatever for?"

"Head to the mess hall in thirty minutes and you will see what I mean" Gan then left, closely followed by me and Sarah…Sorry, Nu Wa, she still had her shield on, I don't think she wanted to let it go just in case, and it made her feel secure here, knowing that she had something to defend herself with.

Gan lead across a city of tents, these ones were much smaller then the ones owned by the officers. After what felt like five minutes we stopped outside some of the tents, these ones were unoccupied.

"Drop your stuff off and meet me in the mess hall in twenty five minutes, and be ready for some fun" he said, he left us at our tents, the rain still pouring down.

We found that the tents were a bit too small; we had to crawl to get into the uncomfortable small space. No bed of any kind. I found that when I put the blade down and lay down I only just fitted in the tent, and then the width of the tent was just big enough for me and the sword.

I crawled back out, seeing Nu doing the same, she had left her blade and shield in the tent; I think she didn't actually want to, but she didn't want to look out of place, I didn't mind, the broadsword was very heavy. We went around the compound, looking for a notice board of some kind to see what we could decipher. When we did find one, it turned out we couldn't understand anything, it was just a load of symbols.

"Hey, you two!" we heard a voice shout; we both looked and saw that it was Zu running over to us.

"What's wrong Zu?" Nu asked

"You shouldn't be out too long in this weather; you might catch your death"

"We'll take the risk" I answered.

"Well don't say I didn't warn you. Anyway, shouldn't you two be at the mess hall?"

"Why?"

"Gan Ning has asked for everyone to attend, apparently he is doing some spa with a new warrior, just to see what they can do"

"Well, we may as well go, Nu. I mean it could be a good chance to see what the others can do"

"Agreed Fu" she replied.

"I thought you were Craig and Sarah" Zu said

"Well, because of us being in a foreign land and for morale, Huang has asked us to take up the names of Nu Wa and Fu Xi in public, but Craig and Sarah in private"

"Oh, well, are we going then"

"Lead us, Zu, we still don't know this camp"

Zu lead us to the mess hall again over the rain soaked ground, something in the camp had changed, I couldn't figure out what, but something was different. When we got to the hall we found out what was different. Cai Mao was back, he looked muddy, but then again, spending most of the day unconscious in the mud does do that. He looked quite calm, oddly, I was half expecting him to be ripping us to shreds by now; but he had his sword strapped to his waist, seemingly ready for us.

The tables from before had been packed away somewhere, leaving a big space, the soldiers had gathered around the outside of the hall, some seats had been set out for them, with three spare chairs nearby, all three of us sat in them, staying together, it looked as though Cai Mao hadn't noticed us.

Gan stood up, with his hands in the air, I looked round the room, seeing a drape at the back of the room covering something, I couldn't exactly figure out what though.

"Right then troops" Gan spoke, the room went silent. "Here is the reigning champion of the ring, Cai Mao…" I stopped listening here.

"Hey, Zu" I whispered, he nodded in response "What's going on?"

"To raise morale, we have a little game going on. The idea is the best fighter stays in the ring while a new challenger steps up to fight him. It's also good for sharpening weapon skills"

"So it's basically a training routine" Nu said.

"Yeah, and it has been going on for about two years now, and because of an unfair ruling, Gan Ning isn't allowed to join in, unless he arranges it before hand"

Everyone cheered all of a sudden; Zu put his finger to his lips, as if telling us to be quiet. We followed his commands and paid attention.

"The Wu dogs are heading this way, but we shall beat them, after all, who can beat Cai Mao!" Gan said, Cai Mao paraded around the ring, everyone cheered him on, but me and Sarah stayed quiet…I couldn't get used to calling her Nu Wa, even though it was stuck in my head.

"Tonight!" Gan yelled, everyone went silent, listening intently to the officers words "The pirate had chosen a good opponent for him" Everyone did that weird 'oooo' thing; although we didn't. "Tonight, the first fight is between the champion and a new recruit of ours, who has recently been added to my unit"

"Why do I get the feeling I know who he is talking to?" I asked Nu.

"It's either you or me" she replied.

"Soldiers, please put your hands together for Nu Wa!" Gan yelled, pointing at my friend, she slowly stood up and walked up to Cai Mao, staring each other down.

"Good luck, Nu!" I yelled, she raised her hand to silence me, I know that everyone was staring at me for that so I just kept quiet.

"Well then girl, ready to lose badly?" Cai Mao taunted.

"Not to you" Nu responded.

"Tonight, here is your selection of weapons!" Gan shouted, moving over to the drape and moving it, revealing a collection of wooden weapons, each of them made for melee, every single melee weapon had been thought of, even a bow had been put on with two long things out the sides, I guess they use bladed bows.

"Challenger gets first choice" Gan said, Nu walked up to the selection and picked up a long thin blade, almost like her rapier, Gan walked up to her with a wooden round shield, I guess that the rapier user gets a shield. she picked it up and put it on as she would a normal shield, like the one she had back at the tent.

"And your choice, Cai Mao?" Gan said, the so called champion walked up to the selection of weapons and grabbed a sword out, both fighters walked back to the ring, standing opposite each other, both in their stances.

"First off, good luck fighters, secondly, there shall be three fights tonight, the other two have already been thought of" Huang said, why do I have the feeling that one of those fighters was me. "So Gan Ning, if you would start things off"

"Right" Gan replied, grabbing the seat next to me. "Fighters, to your stances"

Cai Mao put his 'sword' in front of him, it looked good as I thought he could move it to defend himself any where he was attacked, Sarah… sigh, Nu put her shield in front of her with the 'blade' behind her.

"Fight!" Gan yelled, Cai swung his weapon around, hoping to get a quick strike in, Sarah...sorry, Nu blocked and struck back. Cai moved his blade to defend successfully. And this just kept on going like that for ages.

"Hey Gan" I said.

"Yeah" he answered.

"How long have you served Huang Zu?"

"Four years, ever since Lui Biao died"

"How'd you do?"

"With my pirate background I never really got any respect from the others, the only reason I made it as officer is because of my crew, and then they deserted a few months ago, could be worse I guess"

"One day you will find a worthy lord"

"I hope so. Anyway, enough about me. where do you come from and where did you get that great sword?"

"That's complicated"

"Oh, memory loss"

"Yeah" I pretend; I hadn't lost my memory; it's just that mine was extremely complex.

"Well, you will know one day, I'm sure of it"

"Thanks Gan, by the way, what exactly is going on beyond this area of the land?"

"Let's see, Cao Cao's and Yuan Shao's forces are engaging each other at Guan Du over the emperor, Cao Cao is known as the hero of chaos for his abilities. Lui Bei and his sworn brothers, along with two other officers, defend northern Jing for Lui Zong, the current prefect of Jing, Ma Teng, Lui Zhang, and Zhang Lu hold land, but aren't using it for war, Ma Teng hopes to rebuild Xi Liang in the north west, Lui Zhang just wants independence for Yi in the south west and Zhang Lu is trying to spread the teachings of the 'five grains of rice sect'"

We heard a loud cheer from the audience. We both looked at the match to see that Cai Mao was on the verge of winning, having forced Sarah's (Grr, Nu's) shield away from her, she only had a 'rapier' to fight with, and then the strength of it couldn't really hold against the weight of a proper weapon.

That was when I saw a brilliant move, Sarah (We really have to talk about the name thing) rolled to the side away from the blade, and Cai Mao was caught off guard, Nu (Hurray I got it right) poked him in the back with the 'blade', everyone went silent, Cai Mao dropped his weapon, signalling surrender, Gan stood up, walking over to the warriors.

"Lads, behold the winner" he said, grabbing Sarah's free arm and raising it in the air, the whole room started yelling at the top of their voices, then started chanting 'Nu Wa, Nu Wa' she put the weapon back in it's place, putting the shield near it and going back to her seat, Cai Mao slowly did the same but stood in a corner of the room, leaning against the wall in misery.

"Nice one, Nu" I told her, she held her hand out for a high five, which I answered. That ought to shut that twat up for a while. Gan was still in the middle of the room, Looking at Huang Zu. The audience went silent.

"Congratulation, Nu Wa, it is power like that that belongs in my army" Huang started.

"Just doing what my heart tells me to, my lord" Sarah answered, I better talk to her later about the name thing.

"Thank you, now for the next event, if you would Gan"

"Thank you my lord" Gan replied, he walked around the ring, keeping just in front of the audience. "Our next fight is between a master of the waters of Jing and a warrior who joined us after a rather rocky start with Cai Mao and eight other soldiers, Zu Huang, would you do the honours?"

"Certainly, the fighters are the river master, Gan Ning" Gan held his hands in the air, getting applause from the audience. "And the fiery tempest, Fu Xi"

I looked at him, even I could come up with a better name then that, blazing inferno for example. I got up and walked over to Gan.

"This will be fun" Gan said, holding his fist out.

"At least we can go all out without fear of injuring each other" I answered, gently punching his fist in return.

"Fu Xi gets first choice" Zu said, I walked over to the weapons, looking though them, I saw a weird collection that I didn't see back in my seat, a double ended sword, double ended spear and bladed crossbow, why would a soldier need a bladed crossbow?

I miss out all of these to go for the great sword like wooden thing, it feels almost exactly like the real thing weight wise and, even better, it was shorter then mine.

"And you, Gan Ning"

Gan walked over to the weapons, pulling out a wooden blade almost exactly like his own one, we then stood opposite each other in the ring, he held his blade in front of him in a defensive stance, I tried my best to keep the blade up, but the weight of it forced me to lower it a bit.

_Sometimes, when I look back I think we should have just kept our names._

Come on, they needed something to get used to the weapons, and the names are nowhere near Chinese, so i though that the names were quite good, seeing as though they look and are armed like Fu Xi and Nu Wa

Chapters ahead they will just be using there new names, with the exception being if they are talking to each other in private and possibly to friends away from other troops

Sarah/ Nu's move set, for all you DW fans so far is:

S: left to right slash  
SS: right to center slash  
SSS: jab  
SSSS:Hits the foe with her shield  
SSSSS: kick the foe.  
SSSSSS top left to bottom right slash.

Mousou and charge will be put in when used, alright, Me/Fu will be put down next time


	4. contest

Chapter 3: The contest

_So Sarah/ Nu gave it her all and won her duel with Cai Mao, that ought to teach him a lesson in how to treat a lady, but I didn't think he was anywhere near the strongest in this camp._

So there we were, facing each other in a ring, just waiting for someone to tell us we could start, Gan had his blade ready, something about his confident stance told me that I would struggle in this. Nu sat there, wondering who would win, I'll admit, I wasn't exactly the symbol of confidence.

"Are you two ready?" Huang asked, I moved my weapon in front of me, hoping for a quick win, Gan kept his normal stance, unnerving me oddly enough. We both then nodded. "Fight!"

Gan moved quicker then I thought he could, raising his blade over his head in an attempt to hit me; I left it for a bit before rolling to the left out of the way. Before I had a chance to get back up, he swung the blade from where it was in my direction, where, with a lot of effort, I moved my weapon in the way to block it, achieving that only just in time.

He looked surprised that I actually managed it, a recruit like me pulling that off is like my family showing up out of nowhere, the crowd loved it though, everyone, including Nu, was standing up and shouting encouragement to one of us, half of the crowd for Gan half for me, he got most of the higher ranks on his side though.

I decided to take advantage of his surprise, forcing his weapon back and swinging my weapon upwards, he jumped back out of the way though, unlucky for me. This thing was very heavy and wearing me out, I was breathing heavily and sweating after only a minute of combat. Gan looked at me and saw this.

"You ok Fu?" He asked.

"Fine, I'm just enjoying myself" I answered, oddly enough I was, the rush of adrenaline was revitalising. This was something I could do everyday.

"Alright, let's keep going"

I regretted saying I was fine then, as Gan rushed me so fast that I barely had time to defend my self. When the weapons collided, we were stuck in a deadlock. I held my weapon with both of my hands to give it the most of my strength; he did the same with his.

"One of us shall lose" Gan said, using most of his strength.

"That won't be me" I replied, doing the same.

"I'm not called the river master for nothing"

He forced my weapon upwards then 'slashed' me in the chest with his wooden blade. I had lost the duel, but I had enjoyed it a lot, the crowd was silent as I put my weapon back on the rack, closely followed by Gan, I stopped and looked at him, he was breathing as heavily as me, and our combat hadn't lasted that long. I thought I had to do something to end the silence.

"Great fight Gan" I said, holding out my fist. He looked at me, thinking for a bit about how to answer me.

"I was looking for some competition in this camp" He replied, punching my fist in one of those friendly ways. "Looks like I found it"

The whole room stood up and applauded us, some of them were yelling out Gan's name. None actually bothered about me, so I just went and sat down.

"So!" Gan shouted, the crowd sat back down and fell silent. "I win that round, but that was a good fight to watch wasn't it"

The crowd just all said 'yeah' at the exact same time, I would have thought that they would have been freaked out by that, but I saw out the corner of my eye that some were looking up and speaking some words, making a wish. Superstition at work for you.

"Right, now the last match tonight is between two of our veteran officers. Lord Huang Zu and Lord Lu Gong"

Two people stood up, one in simple cloth clothes with a tall hat, Like Zu Huang, he walked over to the weapons and grabbed a sword, another stood up, he was wearing a turban on his head with what I assume is leather armour. Don't they have any casual clothes here?

I looked at Nu, she seemed to be enjoying herself, I, on the other hand, was knackered after that short match. Seeing as though I would either be training or fighting tomorrow (I set that up earlier in my head. I mean neither of us are any good with our weapons at this time, hopefully she would come of her own accord)

"Sorry, guys, but I'm off" I said, getting off the chair. "Good night"

"Good night, Craig" Nu said, you know, this name thing isn't working. Maybe we should just be called Craig and Sarah. Regardless, I left for my tent.

The camp was quite quiet, and thank god the rain had stopped, I had had enough of a soaking for today, I looked at the sky, seeing clouds in the distance, I'd say that they were half a day away, if that.

When I got to my tent, I reached in and pulled out the great sword in its sheath. Its weight almost pulling me over, I pulled off the sheath and put it on the ground, looking up and down the blade to see if it had any marks from the earlier fight with the soldiers.

"One day" I said to myself, looking for one of those dramatic lines to say. "One day I will find a way home for me and Sarah, until then, I will do what I have to" I wasn't sure if anyone heard me, but It felt good to say it at least, sure it was a bit corny, but still, may as well make a pledge now.

I put the blade away, crawling into my tent and putting beside me. I laid on my back with my hands on the back of my head, trying to relax, that's when I heard someone.

"Craig" she said, I knew it was Sarah/ Nu.

"Yeah" I answered.

"Are you dressed?"

"Yeah, why?"

She crawled into the tent; I got up into a sitting position, cross legged and moved the sword to give as much room as possible. She got in and did the same near the entrance and relaxed.

"What's wrong, Sarah?" I asked.

"I think we have to sort out this name thing" she replied

"Thank god, I was thinking the same but going to ask you tomorrow"

"Well, what do we do?"

"Well, why don't we just call each other our real names, but tell others that we are our new names?"

"Nice idea, but wouldn't people get suspicious if we went around introducing ourselves as Fu Xi and Nu Wa then talk to each other calling each other Craig and Sarah"

"True, true, but it's the best thing we've got"

"Alright, Craig, but we have to think of something, I don't like the idea of war"

"I'd be lying if I said I liked the idea, but think about it, we're alongside some professional soldiers and they are shit scared. Heck I think me and Gan are the calmest here"

"But how do you stay so calm?"

"It's just natural"

"Craig!"

"Ok ok. I think that we are doing the right thing"

"What?"

"Think about it, you signed us up as every good person would do, we are fighting to defend this place and if we lose we go to a stronger faction"

"But what if we get taken prisoner and killed"

"It's the 'what if…'s I ignore for good reasons, you can think 'oh, what if I die here' or 'what if I don't do something right' but you won't know until your on the battlefield"  
"Really"

"Sarah, this is our first real battle, we can't keep thinking about the bad things that could happen, but we're not going to, alright."

Sarah looked at me as if I was going mad, but she saw my wisdom somewhere in those words.

"Good night, Craig" She said, getting out of my tent

"Good night, Sarah" I said, putting my blade back beside me and going back to laying down with my hands behind my head. Soon drifting off to sleep.

_Well, we sorted out the name thing at last, I just hoped we wouldn't have anyone thinking we were spies or mad because we had different names for each other then they called us. But I can honestly say I was quite calm about the whole battle thing._

_Weird huh._

_

* * *

_

from now on, Sarah and...Me call each other by our names, while the soldiers and officers (with some exceptions) call us Fu Xi and Nu Wa

And i thought that seeing as though Gan was extreamly strong, may as well give him speed as well, if you've play DW 5 you will know how fast he is

Move set will be put on next chapter


	5. battle of Xia Kou

Chapter 4: the battle of Xia Kou

_I thought the battle would not change us, that we'd stay the same person we always had been…_

"Craig" A girl's voice said, I was still asleep in the tent, thank god. "Craig"

"Ah, Mum, five more minutes, and then I will get ready, alright" I answered, half asleep.

"Craig, Wake up you idiot"

I then felt a sting on my face as I was slapped, that woke me up, I got up with a start, seeing Sarah in my tent, Gan poking his head through the 'door' of the tent, both had a worried face.

"What's going on then?" I asked.

"Time for the battle, Wu is to the south of our current and we have been told to move out" Gan explained.

"And in a certain sense we have had a blessing" Sarah explain.

"Being…"

"Sun Ce is dead"

"The 'little conquer' died last night, his younger brother, Sun Quan is leading this attack with Zhou Yu and some unproven officers" Gan told me, I did smile a bit I'll admit, but still, I had a battle to fight..

"Well, let's get moving, we can't let the others see we're still asleep and chatting away now can we" I said, Sarah and Gan both smiled and nodded; somehow I could inspire people it seems.

"Right, our unit is to head to the docks south of our present position and defend the western bridge" Gan explained, he got a map out of a pocket, spread it out on the floor and pointed to an area along the river, two bridges crossed it using an island in between, "It's us three and about 50 men against the western division of the Wu attack force"

"So a lot of enemies then" I said, get the sword strapped to my back, I looked at Sarah, seeing that she was already ready.

"Yeah, but we've been told to move out once the boats have departed and attack the Wu camp, guarded by Zhou Yu"

"From what I've heard he is quite handsome and smart, a good tactician and strategist" Sarah said, I thought about her seeing him and thinking of Jim, I just hoped that wouldn't distract her too much from fighting.

"Right, time to mobilize then" I said. Gan and Sarah got out of the tent, closely followed by me, the rain had, unfortunately, started again, drenching us and a fog had set in, limiting vision, it didn't bother me or Gan and Sarah had gotten used to the rain. Gan had his sword ready, something told by the end of today he would have a new lord.

We moved to the docks, it was quite old and made of stone but useable, nothing like the docks of our time. We saw Cai yelling at his troops to get some ships ready and board, we set up on an island nearby, I saw that Gan's men, wearing purple, looked scared, obviously they were recruits, but then again, so were me and Sarah but we weren't showing it.

"Right guys, get your swords!" Gan shouted, everyone grabbed a sword, me and Sarah got ours unsheathed, I nearly fell over again but managed to keep my balance somehow. I then put the sword in a neutral position along side me trailing a bit.

"Listen guys!" Gan yelled, everyone looked at him, listening to him. "We are here to hold this position from the forces of Wu! Everyone at Xia Kou is depending on us!" everyone looked round, looking for said troops, I heard some whispers of people planning on leaving during this fight and others were wondering about our chances of winning.

I turned round and looked straight at the mass, anger growing within me,

"Listen you load of cowards!" I yelled, I think everyone was surprised at this sudden outburst as everyone shut their traps and looked at me. "We are here to fight! We are here to win! These fools from Wu stand no chance while we stand strong and stand united! We are the only thing that stands between the forces of Wu and the innocents of Jing! Do you want to go back to your families a coward or return to them a hero?!"

I think I hit a good note then as everyone raised their weapons in the air and cheered. Everyone was ready for the fight at last. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned round to see Sarah patting me there. She was inspired as well, I then saw Gan with a smile on his face.

"Right then men!" Gan started, I think me and Sarah forgave him for that. "We shall hold this area until the boats set off from the docks! Until then, we hold off the western Wu division, led by Ling Cao!"

The troops gave off one more cheer then quieted as they moved into position. Gan pointed to a soldier then where he had to move to, taking 4 more with him. So we didn't take long, we just set up a few soldiers on the bridge with a few more of them waiting in ambush. We stuck with Gan, hoping he would assist us in our first combat.

We waited for about an hour in the pouring rain, Sarah had started sneezing and I was bored waiting. Gan just stood there, waiting for his chance; I can honestly say I have never seen a person with such determination before. I looked in the distance where Gan had said the enemy was coming from. Nothing.

"Gan, I'm bored and Sarah has a cold" I said, walking towards Gan "how much longer do we have to wait till…"

That was as far as I got, as I heard a ping come from my blade, looking at it, I saw an arrow on the floor, broken from the impact.

"Shit, who fired that?" I asked, which was neatly and quickly answered when I heard a voice in the distance.

"Damn! That was the only arrow we had!" it sounded like a guy.

"Gan" I said.

"I heard it. Fu, Nu, you two ready?" Gan asked. Me and Sarah both silently nodded and joined the ranks, waiting for the charge from Wu, I gripped my blade tightly and, judging from her facial expression, Sarah was as well, she looked scared and, to be honest, I was shit scared but tried my best to hide it.

From within the fog, I saw some red approach us, it was just one person at first, and then it multiplied into 2 people, then 4, then about 16 with countless behind. Gan charged first, followed by his soldiers, all yelling as loud as they could. Me and Sarah stayed back, I looked at her, she looked at me.

"Ready?" I asked, she sneezed again before answering.

"As I'll ever be" was her answer.

"Let's go"

We both charged the enemy; we were as ready as we were going to be but at least we weren't the only ones who weren't used to combat.

When we hit the enemy ranks, we started attacking the enemy; I tried my best NOT to kill them so I hit them with the flat side of the blade. I saw Sarah hit them with her shield to knock them out; I panicked when I saw someone behind her try to slash her in the back, but Gan saved her just in time.

"Good old Gan" I said, I actually should have been paying more attention to the combat as I found my self surrounded by enemies.

"Got you now, scum" one of them said, he charged at me on his own holding his sword above his head, when he was about to slash, I simply sidestepped it.

"Give me a challenge" I taunted, bringing the flat side of my blade down upon his skull, he groaned in pain then fell to the floor, unconscious.

The others then charged at me, I swung my blade round, hitting them as hard as I could while defending myself from their attacks. Blood flew around from where the blade dug in, some of it splattered in my face. The adrenaline rush came again so I wasn't really bothered, but then again, I wasn't really concentrating either.

"Next time, keep you back covered would yer" I heard Gan say, and then I heard someone groan in pain, I turned round and saw Gan raising his blade from off the ground, I saw a soldier fall down with a long cut in him across his chest, blood pouring out of it.

"I'll bear that in mind next time" I replied, Gan stood next to me, back to back with the sounds of the battle all around us.

"Nu Wa's alright, she is fighting them off as a soldier has too, killing the enemy" Gan explained, swinging his blade and killing two more enemies.

"I'm sure that she is finding it hard"

"You are too it seems"

"Well, any tips you can give to a recruit in fighting?"

"Just fight back, they are the enemy, if you don't kill them, they will kill you"

His words made sense, but that didn't make this any easier, I just attacked the enemy, trying to kill them, my blade dug deep into a few of the enemy soldiers, blood flying all over me, still not bothered. It was quite easy to take the enemies lives, but I felt dreadful with each kill.

"Nu is over there" Gan said, he pointed to a group of soldiers fighting a single girl, good old Sarah was winning.

"Thanks and good luck Gan" I said, running over to her, killing any enemy that got in my way. I felt a cut on my right side and saw that I had being hit, just a small mark, not deep but still painful, I grabbed the buggers throat and impaled him on my sword.

Something about this seemed odd, the poor guy slid of my sword and fell onto the ground, I stood there, looking round and saw that Gan had found a bow and picked up the broken arrow, the one that had hit my blade.

"Hey Ling Cao!" he yelled, loading the broken arrow to the bow and aiming, I couldn't see what he was firing at, but the next thing I knew, he had fired it, the troops all stopped as they heard a blood curdling yell, I looked and saw that an officer had been hit in the head, killing him as the point pierced his brain. It wasn't a pretty sight.

"Retreat! Ling Cao is dead! Fall back to the Main camp" one of the enemy soldiers yelled, all of the enemy retreated in a disorderly fashion, well, what I should say is that they screamed at the top of their voices and ran with their weapons above their heads.

The soldiers on our side started celebrating; first blood belongs to the defence force of Xia Kou. I stabbed the blade down into the earth so it stood there. I grabbed my side, wanting to check how bad my injury was. Sarah ran over to me, she had put her rapier back in its sheath. Gan did the same but had his weapon out.

"You ok, Craig?" Sarah asked.

"Well, I'm bleeding, I'm in extreme pain, I've killed some people" I said that bit sarcastically.

"So you're ok then?" Gan said.

"Yeah, as can be expected. How are the troops?"

"We've lost five men, but I think it's safe to say that we've just made the enemy tremble. You ready for the advance?"

"Gan, Craig is in no fit state to keep fighting!" Sarah argued.

"Sarah, I have to keep fighting" I interrupt, getting up slowly by grabbing my blade.

"Don't push yourself too hard out there, come back alive" Gan said, I put the blade back into its sheath.

That was when an unarmed soldier, wearing cloth instead of armour but still in our army's colours, ran up to Gan, went down on one knee and held his fist. I guess that's a custom in China.

"My lord, Cai Mao has set off from the docks" he said

"Great, what are our new orders?" Gan replied, I had a feeling I knew what they were. Most likely to advance along the bank.

"Advance towards the Wu Main camp and attack them head on, Cai will attack them head on, good luck"

The messenger then ran off, heading back to where ever he was before perhaps, Gan picked up his sword and walked over to us, a serious look in his eyes.

"Ok, you two, I want you to head to the docks, the men and I are heading to the enemy" he told us.

"But Gan, we can fight" I protested.

"Sorry, but you've done your fair share of fighting in this battle, tomorrow, if the fight still goes on, then I will take you along again, but until then, stay back"

Gan ran off, the rest of the men following, I wouldn't be surprised he will run into some problems, but we had no choice, my injury would slow me down and Sarah was too worried about me.

"So now what do we do?" I asked, looking at her, she looked at me, unsure about an answer.

"May as well wait at the docks, I saw a few medical supplies back there and it has some shelter." She told me, I just nodded and we both walked back to the docks.

When we got there, we sat under a bit of shelter, Sarah looked though a crate and found a few bandages and patched up my wound.

"Right, is that better?" she asked, finished wrapping it up.

"Yeah, it feels better" I answered, I put my sword down alongside me and relaxed against the wall, Sarah was still sneezing, the cold was really getting to her.

"You gonna be alright with that cold?"

"Yeah, just give me a good night's sleep and I will be fine" she answered.

"Sarah, honestly, will you be alright?"

"Yeah, like I said, a good nights sleep and I'll be fine"

I looked out towards the pouring rain; the ships had departed, like we heard, no one was round here now, every once in a while a bird would land nearby and join us, seeing as though we weren't doing much.

I heard a noise from within the fog, it sounded like footsteps, I picked up my sword and stood up, Sarah following my lead. From within the fog some enemy troops appeared, each one was lightly armour and armed with a spear each, I then saw someone else, he worn light, possibly leather clothes like armour with two daggers.

"Well, looks like we have some loners" he said, the voice seemed familiar but the body wasn't, he was about my size but with less muscle and black hair.

"Please, we don't want to fight" I begged.

"Well, you've already decimated the western division. Come quietly and we will let you live, for now"

I lowered my blade a bit, we were outnumbered and outmuscled, and we couldn't fight them off even if we were at full strength. I put my sword back into its sheath and surrendered, I didn't really care what happened to me, just as long as Sarah was safe.

"I surrender" I said, walking over to them with my hands in the air, like they did in my time, Sarah emulated me, but had the shield on her hand.

"Good, now for the good part"

The guy grabbed me by the shoulders and throttled me in the chest, after a few seconds of extreme pain, I fell unconscious.

_You know, I asked Sarah what happened to her when we met up during one of the brief periods of peace, she told me he did the exact same thing to her. I couldn't really forgive him for harming her._


	6. Captured and a test

before i begin, i would like to thank two people.

XXTakaraXX, the answer to your question lies in this chapter, and thanks.  
DynastyandSamuraiwarriorsfan, Thanks for the input on the battle scene, sometimes i do over do the battles but it seems i've hit it just right.  
Thank you for your great remarks, and the fav things, i can tell you that when you get four emails at the same time from the same place it kinda hits a note.  
I had someone come on a while ago and leave 13 spam reviews, all saying it sucks, if your reading this, get a life, i'm not giving up anytime soon.

Chapter 5: Captured and a test.

_I didn't really know who that guy was, but he seemed familiar in voice._

I woke up in a weird stone chamber, sat down on what I assume is a wooden chair I looked around, seeing nothing in the room but the wooden door, the walls are made of a black stone of some kind, the floor feels cold, looking down I see that they took my boots off and put them in a corner, along with my sword in its sheath, looking round the whole place I see no sign of Sarah.

"Nu Wa!" I shout, it echoed around the room, when it faded there was nothing except the occasional drip of water. I try to hear her voice in response but…nothing.

"Nu!" I yell again, the same thing happened with no response again. I feared for her safety at this point, not knowing is worse than knowing if she's dead or alive.

I then heard footsteps on the other side of the door; I look at it with intent and a certain amount of dread. The door opened and, I was annoyed to see, the person who knocked me out, he still had his weapons with him, they were in two different sheathes, one red the other gold.

"So then, soldier" he started, he walked in front of me and grabbed me by the throat. "What's your name?" I just sit there in silence, not willing to answer his question.

"Oh, a tough one, well, lets see if this works"

"What's your name then?" I retort, he gets his arm ready to punch me.

"The name's Shimao Kong. Remember it!" he yelled.

He shoved his fist right into my stomach, I was winded and in a hell of a lot of pain, I managed to glance at my side, seeing that the bandage was still there.

"I'll ask again" he said, grabbing my throat again "What's your name?!"

"Fu Xi" I answer, he let go of my throat and paced around the room, picking up my sword.

"Where'd you get this sword?"

"What's it to you?"

He slammed the broad side into my chest, winding me again.

"Where'd you get it?!"

"I heard a legend about a powerful sword in a cave near Jing, so I decided to hunt round for it" I lied

"Not good enough!" He shouts and slams the weapon into my chest again, this time I cough up blood. "Now tell me!"

"I've told you the truth! Now let me go!" I shout back, I try to stand up but find I'm tied to the chair with a chain.

"You can go when I say you can, Fu Xi!"

"Well where is my friend then!"

I then hear a scream from another room, it sounded like Sarah. Please don't let it be her.

"That answer your question" he says, he sounded a bit too proud for my liking.

"Let her go!"

"Who do you serve?"

"No one, we're not even meant to be involved"

"Where'd you learn to fight?"

"In Xia Kou, just before the battle"

"And your friend"

"The same as me"

He then walked over the door and knocked on it, a soldier on the other side opened it up, he then left the room, I saw him have a small conversation with the soldier outside but I couldn't hear what about. He walked off, leaving the soldier being the only person there.

"You got that soldier" Kong said.

"Yes, my lord" the soldier replied, Kong walked away after that, back to where he had come from. The soldier walked in, armed with a sword, he had it drawn.

"Well, if your going to kill me then get it over with already" I stated, I honestly thought that I was going to die, to die here was not something that I looked forward to.

The next thing I knew, he had swung the blade at head height, then a pain at the back of my head. All I saw after that was darkness, nothing; I couldn't even hear the water dripping.

Eventually my eyes allowed me to see again, I was lying, face up, on a bed of some kind, I looked round and it was basically what you would expect of an ancient Chinese bedroom, a window in one corner of the room, bed on the floor and a slide door, which looked like nothing more then paper used as the bit in between the frame, thank god it had the wood, in another corner.

"Am I… dead?" I asked myself, looking round the room again. The door then opened and a guy wearing green walked in, doing that respect thing to me.

"Sorry to interrupt, but its good to see your awake" he said.

"What's going on?" I asked, getting up, I saw my boots in one corner and walked over to them, starting to put them on.

"My lord has asked you to take a test for a chance to join his army"

"Let me guess, Sun Quan wants me to join him, does he?"

"Yes, sir, how did you guess?"

"When one minute your in captivity then in a room, your captors are most likely involved" I had finished strapping on the boots. "What's the challenge?"

"Basically fight your way to him using a wooden weapon, the 'enemy' will do as well"

"Good, then I will have a chance to get used to my weapons weight again"

"No swords are supplied I'm afraid"

"Great" I replied sarcastically, walking over to him "What is the selection then?"

The door slid open, revealing a rack of weapons, like the one they had in Xia Kou, this time the swords had been removed, leaving everything else doubled up.

"Pick what ever one you want and fight your way though this place" the soldier informed me.

"What of Nu?" I asked, wanting information on Sarah.

"Your friend is waiting with my lord" he told me, that didn't really help.

"Well, if I have to fight here…" I started, I picked up two spears and held them, feeling the weight and getting a feel for the weapons. I then span round to show off. "…May as well make it a good fight"

"I've been told that your objective is to get to the end of the corridors and beat an officer to succeed"

"Shouldn't be too hard" I said, smiling. I'll admit at the time I was overconfident, but why shouldn't I be.

I left the soldier behind me, the corridors ahead were the same where ever I was, wood flooring with some 'windows', whatever happened, I had to succeed in order to keep on going in the army, if I got a massive demotion to a foot soldier…Well, the dream would be over.

After a few minutes of running though this place, I ran into three soldiers, each were armed with wooden swords.

"Move out of my way!" I shouted, I swung the spears at them, two of them blocked and the third walked round and tried to 'slash' me, and I withdraw one of the spears in order to block him.

"Give it up, wretch of Jing" One of them said, I decided to just throw one of the spears at him and concentrate on using one spear.

"Catch!" I shouted. Then proceeding to throw the spear, laughing as I saw it hit him in the face. I grabbed the other spear with both of my hands.

"You'll pay for that!" another soldier shouted, I hit him in the groin while he was distracted, that had to hurt, he and his friend back out of the 'combat', I guess they were ordered to do that if hit. The last one was quickly hit by a follow up to that attack.

"Round one to the Xi army" I joked, I guess you could call this little game a battle between two armies, the Wu army and the Xi army. "If you don't mind, I'll take that sword off you" I said to one of the defeated.

"Ok, and good luck" he said, passing me the sword, it felt lighter then my sword but still a strong weapon. I kept the spear but set it up as a spare weapon… I still hadn't heard anything about Sarah though.

"I don't care what I have to do, I will find you Sarah. Even if I have to move the heavens themselves, I will find you" I ran off ahead, fighting though more of the enemy. "After all, I said I'd protect you and you me"

_There was something I had heard back home, 'if you keep the one thing that you want close to your heart, one day it will come true'_

_That was something Sarah taught me, and I never forgot it._


	7. acceptance

Chapter 6: acceptance

_Running through that place, I just thought that we had to fight, how surprised I was at the end of it._

I ran through the place, occasionally stopping to fight small groups of enemies, the corridor was longer then I thought it was to begin with, after a while I started singing, randomly.

"And I would walk 500 hundred miles, and I would walk 500 more, to be the man, who walks a thousand miles to fall down at your door" I sang for a bit, I stopped when I came up to a door at the end of the corridor, I stopped in front of it and listened, hearing a conversation on the other side.

"You know he probably won't join us if you do this" a young female voice said, she didn't sound familiar.

"Well I think he will show us his true fighting spirit if we do" a young male voice said.

"My lord, as strategist, I think that this is a bad idea" another young male voice replied.

"Trust me, I think he will make a fine addition to our army, besides, I think there is more to him then meets the eye"

"Well, I guess it's time for a bit of a personal challenge, I may as well give them a show to remember" I whispered to myself, I grabbed the spear in one hand and held the sword in the other, planning to use the spear for attack and sword for defence.

Instead of opening the door slowly, I kicked it down and walked in, I saw a throne opposite with a young man on it; he wore a weird hat of some kind with bronze armour all over him.

There were two people next to him, they both looked like girls but one had a flat chest and the other had a nice figure. The one with the flat chest (I guessed it was a guy) had long black hair, red armour and a LONG sword, he did look quite intelligent.

The other one was sat next to the one with the bronze armour; she wore some red/white leather, sleeveless clothes and red trousers; I really don't know what she was thinking but she had a worried look on her face.

"Am I right in thinking you are Sun Quan?" I asked the one sat down, he just nodded. "Where is Nu Wa!?"

"Your friend is fine…for now" he replied, I was quite angry at his reply, but was angered even more when I heard a noise behind me.

I looked in the direction of the noise and saw Sarah tied up and gagged in a corner, she looked kinda scared, but for some reason just seeing her alive and well was enough to calm my nerves.

"Bit extreme for a test don't you think?" I asked, calmly, turning back to the throne

"If you lose, she and you die" Quan replied.

"Yeah, a bit extreme, I bet you don't get many men that way, so where's that officer I have to fight?"

"Zhou Yu, if you would do the honours" Quan said.

"Yes my lord" the guy with the sword replied, he started walking towards me.

"Before we start, who are you three?" I asked, throwing the spear into a corner.

"I am Lord Zhou Yu, tactician and main strategist for the forces of Wu" the guy in front of me introduced himself, even giving a little bow.

"I am Lady Shang Xiang, sister to Sun Quan" the lady introduced herself. "And you are?"

"People call me Fu Xi, but my real name…Well, I'll tell you that another day. Besides, shouldn't you know my name from the interrogation earlier?" I replied, getting into a stance.

"Sorry, but we found you in Xia Kou, unconscious, we had heard reports of you and your friend leaving your mark upon the army, including the death of Ling Cao, we never ordered any interrogation"

"Well, Shimao Kong wore red, and I presume that red is the colour of your army"

"Who's this Shimao Kong?"

I was a bit confused by this, he was meant to be an officer of Wu, even with some of their army colours, well, I guess that was enough talk and I got into a stance like I saw with the others before.

"Enough talk, time to fight" I said to him, he looked at me and got into a stance as well, basically the same as I had seen with other officers but he kept moving his feet.

"Very well, Fu Xi, let the battle begin" he replied.

He was faster then I thought he would be, considering his figure I guess I shouldn't have been surprised but still. I barely managed to raise my blade to block an attack of his; the sound of wood on wood gave me a bit of a rush.

"Your faster then you look" I complimented him, smile as I tried to trip him up.

"So are you" he complimented me back, he jumped back away from me in order to dodge my trip attempt. "But try not to be so obvious"

"I'll keep that in mind"

I rushed him, attempting to hit him with my blade, I was surprised when he sidestepped it and I hit the floor.

"Is this the best you can do?" he taunted, I got back up and charged him again, this time doing one of those horizontal slashes, he jumped it and landed behind me, kicking me down onto the floor.

"This isn't going too well for me is it" I commented, getting back up and focusing on Zhou, Sarah was behind her, I could see a tear come to her eye, she was actually near the spear that I had thrown, and so I resolved a cunning plan.

"Come on then, Fu; show us the skills you portrayed at Xia Kou!" Zhou remarked, I got up off the ground and went for him again, he sidestepped my attack and countered, which I blocked with my blade.

"That enough for you?" I panted; I was getting worn out by all of this combat. Couldn't I have a day off anytime soon?

"You hope to fight with 'this' strength?" he taunted, I had my back to Sarah, and I could see Quan and Shang Xiang, both of them watched the battle intently.

"Well, I don't intent to lose with this strength of mine" I forced his blade back, backing up so that I was just in front of the spear.

"Well come on then, don't you want to protect your loved one?" he slammed his blade down onto mine, forcing me down onto one knee…Perfect

"We're just friends for gods sake, and I can protect them with my strength!" I yelled at him, I took one hand off the sword and picked up the spear, I didn't know what end I picked up, but I swung it at his side, turned out I grabbed the right end, the point, if it were a real spear, would have dug into his side and…Well, you get the picture.

Zhou back up, taking his sword off mine, he had a smile on his face, as if he had succeeded in something, I got off the ground and untied Sarah, taking the gag off her as well.

"You alright?" I asked her, she got up, smiling, which I was a bit confused about.

"Craig, you passed" she told me, I was still confused at this, looking at the three officers.

"You didn't think we'd seriously kill you and her now did you" Quan said

"What do you mean?"

"She already passed the test"

"Yeah, with flying colours" Shang Xiang commented, grabbing her shoulder and rotating it. I guess Sarah did a number on her.

"So, she was never in any harm" I said, a bit bemused

"Not from us"

"Well why did I have to fight all the way here then, why couldn't we just join as soldiers in the first place!?"

"We had to make sure you would be a worthwhile officer"

"Not good enough"

"Well, what do you want then?"

I looked down at the ground, sure I wanted to go home, but that wouldn't be happening anytime soon, I wanted to keep Sarah safe, but that wouldn't exactly be happening anytime soon either, guess that left me with only one choice…

"I want my sword so that I can fight for my lord's dream" I replied, bowing to Sun Quan, Sarah joined me, by my side but doing the same thing.

"Lord Sun Quan, I think we both want the same thing" she said,

"Very well, soldiers" Sun Quan started; we both looked up at him, thankful that he had accepted the soldier side of us. "From this day on, you shall be known as officers of Wu and shall serve from this day on"

"Thank you my lord" I answered, getting up a bit too quickly as I hurt my leg, grinning through the pain.

"Zhou Yu, show them to their rooms and weapons"

"Yes, my lord" Zhou replied, walking off to a side door, we both followed him, I was getting hungry and I'm sure that Sarah was as well

He lead us through more winding corridors, this time we saw other people running by, every so often Zhou would stop one of them and introduce us, the first one we met was a warrior whose body was covered in red armour and he had two long clubs strapped to his legs.

"Fu Xi, Nu Wa, this is Taishi Chi. He joined us after we took the Wu territories under the late Sun Ce…" Shou started, he went silent when he said Sun Ce's name and he looked like he was about to cry, I thought that I might as well break the silence.

"Nice to meet you" I said, holding my hand out for a handshake.

"Nice to meet you two as well" Taishi replied, responding to the handshake. "I've heard good things about you, like you were partly responsible for the defeat of the western division in our assault on Xia Kou"

"We were there, but Gan's the one who killed the leader" Sarah explained.

"Well, either way, I think you'll have some fun with his son, Ling Tong"

"Oh great"

"It gets better; he has already tried to kill Gan Ning twice, failing both times"

"Give our regards to Gan please, Taishi, we're going to get settled in"

We walked off, Zhou leading the way; we eventually came to two doors opposite each other.

"Fu, you live in there" Zhou said, pointing to one of the doors "Nu you live in the one opposite" pointing to the other door. "Meals are served at morning, noon and night in the mess hall, just further down this hall. In the field just morning and night"

"Thanks, Zhou Yu, we'll see you there later" I replied, heading into my room, but got stopped by him.

"I think it's best if you both go together after a meal to the training area, we can teach you a good deal more about the weapons you use, I'll be there with another general called Lu Meng and, if I can persuade her to, Shang Xiang"

"So basically that girl back there and a guy will be there along with you"

"Yes, now get your stuff together, we've put some stuff in there you might like. You will be informed when the meals are about to be served"

Zhou walked off down the corridor; I presumed he was going round doing his duties as a general; I opened the door to my room, Sarah mirroring me, the room was like the one I was in before, except this one had my sword in, I picked it up gleefully and swung it around a bit (Nearly knocking a 'window' out) grateful that they hadn't destroyed my sword.

I walked back out, looking into Sarah's room, I saw her examine her Rapier with clear precision, doing the same with her shield.

"Right then my lady" I said, she looked at me with a smile. "Shall we go to dinner early?"

"May as well do, you never know who you could meet" she replied, she left her equipment in her room and walked down the corridor to the mess hall, I stayed back, thinking about these past few days.

"In three days, I've learnt to fight. I bet that would take our modern army a year just to get to the guns" I said to myself, I was proud of myself for a good reason; I had never picked up a proper weapon in my life, I walked down the corridor, following Sarah.

_Sometimes I think back to that one fight, if I failed there then I would never have got any further in this life, and I promised her I'd protect her…After all, who's gonna have my back._


	8. food and training

Sorry it's been a while, but I've been EXTEMELY busy over the last few weeks, plus my computers been playing up, not displaying the documents bit on FF, now, with out further ado…

Chapter 7: food and training.

_I can't say I've ever tried Chinese food, but its breakfast, lunch and dinner here, and I was looking forward to the training._

When we got to the mess hall, we saw loads of tables all around the place, like a canteen at school. Most of the soldiers around the place were grouped together, making friendship groups in the little squads, good for battle to know you allies have your back.

In one corner of the room, on three tables that looked more exotic then the rest, were the officers and generals of the army, I could see the lords from earlier on the table, along with a few more that I hadn't met before, Gan was on the end of Quan's table, with room for two on the end. He saw us and pointed at the space.

"Well at least we have a space to talk to him" I said, smiling and looking at Sarah, she was smiling as well.

"Well, let's get some food then" she replied, we were both hungry, and we were eager to try it.

We saw a, what I assumed was, a peasant, he was wearing red clothes and was standing next to a basket with plenty of steam coming out of it, along with plates opposite…Plates?

"My lord, my lady, I see you're here for the meal" the guy said.

"If you would please" I replied, he grabbed a plate and out some peach shaped things onto it, giving them to Sarah, he then repeated it and gave them to me.

"Thanks" Sarah told him

"Your welcome my lady"

We then walked across the hall to where Gan was, taking the seats near him. He looked pleased to see us again. Well, in my sense of time it had been two days.

"How've you two been?" he asked us.

"Fine I guess, despite the capture" I answered

"Well, at least we're on the same side again"

"Nice to see a friendly face"

"Oh yeah, I would like you two to meet someone"

Gan tapped the guy next to him on the back, this guy wore red armour with the occasional gold, his long black hair was tied back into a small arc and he looked quite strong, judging on his muscles.

"What now, Gan Ning?" he asked the pirate.

"Old man, I would like you to meet Fu Xi and Nu Wa" he told the officer. The guy looked at us, his eyes taking in every detail.

"Well, new recruits, huh. My name is Lu Meng, I'm a veteran of our lord's, serving since he took Jiang Dong"

"Jiang Dong?" I asked, this was most likely a stupid question from their point of view.

"They don't have any knowledge of this land, Strange really" Gan explained.

"I see, Jiang Dong is the province we're in now, the nerve centre of this kingdom" Lu Meng explained.

"Thanks, nice to meet you by the way" Sarah said, I simply nodded and ate a bit of my food, the bun tasted quite spicy, but was quite nice none the less, I then noticed a change in Meng's expression.

"Hey! I'm not old!" he shouted into the ear of the pirate next to him, all three of us laughed at the slowness at which he realised he had been insulted.

Looking round the room, I saw a man in black armour near him. You know the Black Knight in Fire emblem, that's the colour of the armour, it did have the odd red streak or gold in some places, he held a long, curved blade at his side, like one of those samurai blades.

"That's Lord Zhou Tai" Lu Meng told me, I looked at him, surprised that he was so perceptive.

"Any idea where he's from?" I asked, I was hoping for him to say either 'don't know' or 'an island far to the east'.

"He is from Shou Chun, along with Jiang Qin" this did kinda upset me because I thought I had met a samurai about a thousand years early, Sarah just looked at me and smiled, biting into her peach thing. I couldn't stay upset at that minor thing. We travelled to ancient China, but can we get back should be our main concern.

When we finished our meal, we were surprisingly full, those 'peach bun' things were more filling then they looked at first sight. I left first, finding a balcony away from the group, you know for breathing space. The balcony I had chosen was actually a good view, mainly a river and a sea of trees beyond it. Quite calming really.

"I'd never find a view like this back home" I said to myself, thinking back to home life, I could see my brother's face in front of me, even my mother's, but reaching out to them, they disappeared in a mass of stardust…Well, I say stardust, but it was the middle of the day.

I don't know why, but a song I learned a while ago…well, a year, but that is a while…pushed its way to the front of my brain, fighting to get me to sing it.

"come now, it's time to forget...the futures looking bleak" I sang, pausing as i would have done normally. "But still, we look to the sky, and see the crimson rain" I heard footsteps behind me as I hit a pause in the song, and I turned round in one of those unarmed fighting stances, only to see that Zhou Yu and Shang Xiang were behind me listening to the song.

"Oh, My lady, My Lord" I apologized, getting out of that stance and kneeling on the ground, even doing that hand thing I saw at the battle of Xia Kou. "Sorry, just lost in thought"

Shang Xiang put her hand on my shoulder; I looked up at her as she shook her head. Looking at Zhou Yu, he pulled a flute out of his clothes and playing a tune that really did accommodate the song more then the original tune I'd heard.

"Please" she started; I got back up off the ground and looked her in the eye "Start over"

"My lady, not being rude, but why?" I asked her, she shifted uneasily as I asked her this. Zhou Yu kept on playing his flute.

"For some reason that song sounds familiar" Zhou Yu stopped playing and joined in the conversation.

"From what I heard from Lord Sun Jian, your mother used to sing it to you when you couldn't sleep" he informed her, I was amazed as the song I was singing wouldn't be made for about two thousand years, technically.

"Well, may as well do for you my lady" I said, turning back to the view that I was looking at before. "Zhou Yu, if you would"

He took a deep breathe and started to play the tune again, I regained where I'd started from, as it's quite difficult to sing. but instead of starting from the beginning, which i new i had done, i changed to the more active bit

"you must run away, yo must run away, from this harsh destiny that's far to sad" I had used my breathe up at this point, Zhou Yu had just kept on "I know that you're, not a flower from hell like they say." Again, a pause. to which Zhou Yu ignored and kept going. "But they'll never see you. when you fully bloom, when you fully bloom. fight against your fate, and live another day. the sands of time continue to flow, and fall, with out a sound"

That was where I ended, as it was where my knowledge of the song ended as well; Zhou Yu played a little ending on his flute, which sounded great, ands then put the flute back into his armor. Shang Xiang looked like she was about to cry, but I knowing me she was about to laugh.

"That was good, lord Xi, with a little practice you could do well" she complimented.

"Thank you my lady" I responded to her, I looked at Zhou Yu and bowed to him. "That was some brilliant flute playing Lord Zhou Yu"

"Thank you, But if you don't mind, Lord Lu Meng and Lady Nu Wa are already waiting in the training room, we just came looking for you" Zhou Yu told me.

"Oh, well, let's go then"

They led the way, I simply followed, and I can honestly say I wish I had a change of clothes; even a different set of armor would suit me, but right now I was stuck with the clothes I'd begun with.

The rest of this place made it look more like a palace then a castle, and then it felt like it was made by a fitness instructor, the amount of times I went up just to go back down then back up. I didn't really say anything as they might just be working on my fitness.

After about an hour of walking, we came to a big wooden door, not like the others, this one looked like one of my times designs, Zhou opened it and walked through, followed by Shang Xiang then me. It was basically what you'd expect from a training room, apart from the fact that it wasn't really a room. It was outside but sheltered, so you could work outside even if it rained. A few wooden posts with soldiers armor put on were set up around the room with several archery targets on the far side.

"Well, about time you got here" someone said, I looked over towards it source and saw Lu Meng and Sarah with some bows, about to do archery then.

"I needed some space to think, besides, at least we aren't too late" I replied.

"Lord Fu Xi, I shall be your teacher here" Zhou Yu told me.

"Lady Nu Wa, I shall be your teacher" Shang Xiang told Sarah.

"What's Lu Meng here for then?" I asked.

"Gan Ning had asked to use this room in case things kick off between him and Ling Tong, I'm just here in case things get lethal" Lu Meng answered.

"Oh, okay, now where do I start?"

So that's how it started, Sarah started off doing some weapon training with Shang Xiang, I did some horseback combat with Zhou Yu, using wooden weapons of course. He got out a spear and passed it to me, we basically did a bit of jousting, and when our weapons hit we would do a mounted duel, while, yes, it was supposed to be a serious exercise, I really enjoyed myself. Occasionally, I grabbed my bandage as my injury started flaring up, but it didn't hold me back much, I didn't really pay any attention to Sarah as I was having too much fun, but I heard the occasional clash of wood on wood and a grunt as someone lost.

Then was archery for me and the mounted combat for Sarah. The target was set up about 50 feet away, now normally, I'd jump at the chance, but to be honest the torture from a day ago wasn't helping, my arm went numb at the critical moment so I could never get a bulls-eye. Didn't put me off trying though, I always came really close. After about ten shots, Lu Meng walked over to me with, what looked like, a crossbow and a bolt quiver.

"Try this instead, you might find it easier to aim given the state your arms in" he told me, I looked at him, confused.

"How did you know it was my arm?" I asked him, taking the crossbow off him and loading it, it was light enough to use in one hand.

"Every warriors has his or her marks of war somewhere"

"Where's yours then?"

"My left arm, it got cut years ago when I fought some bandits, so I can't fight with that arm"

"So that's why you use a pole arm" Zhou Yu commented, I was confused and I guess I looked it

"You use a pole arm in two hands, so if one is affected by something, the other covers it"

"Oh, nice"

"So, how did you and her meet" I knew he meant Sarah.

"We met a few years ago, and have been good friends ever since"

"Quick and simple, like it"

I put my focus back into aiming the crossbow, when I had the sights set on the bulls-eye, I fired, and, to my utter surprise, it flew straight and true into the center. All three of us were amazed, I was even more so as I had never used a crossbow in my life.

We kept on going, but were interrupted by the door flying open and two men walking in, one I immediately recognized as Gan, the other I didn't know but assumed was this Ling Tong, he wore red cloths and his hair was set up like Lu Meng's. They were having an argument.

"Why are you so arrogant?" Gan asked his 'friend'.

"You killed my father! What do you expect?!" Ling replied.

"Guys, calm down" Lu Meng walked up to them and tried to quiet them, Zhou Yu sighed.

"I think it's best if you two go back to your rooms and go to sleep" he told me, I looked outside and noticed how dark it had gotten.

"Wow, I didn't realize it was that late" I told him, Sarah and Shang Xiang walked over to us; both looked saddened by the display.

"We'll sort this out, you two go to your rooms" Shang Xiang ordered us.

"Yes my lady" I said, starting to walk out of the room

"Good night" Sarah said, following me, we nearly made it out of the room, but we just couldn't make it.

"You two, WAIT!" Ling shouted, we both stopped and looked at him.

"What do you want?" I asked him.

"What are your names?"

"I'm Fu Xi, she's Nu Wa"

"Well then, Fu Xi and Nu Wa, I don't forgive you for your part in killing my father"

"But we didn't do anything"

"You helped this stinking pirate!"

We just walked out at that, hoping to avoid a fight, whilst walking back to the room, I took a look under the bandage. And thankfully the wound had stopped bleeding; leaving a nice scar…well I figured that that would heal soon. So I took the bandage off altogether.

When we got to the rooms, there was a note on the door, thankfully written in English…Wait; it's in English, that language doesn't get invented for another…1400 years…Oh well.

The note basically said, in the most amount of words possible: your clothes have been delivered and put in the closet, we have left a book on our language as well, so you can write and read the notes we may send from time to time, from Sun Quan.

"Well, may as well wear them tomorrow" I said, going into my room "Good night, Sarah"

"Good night Craig" she told me back, we then both closed the doors behind us.

Really the only light in here was candle light, but it was sufficient to see the whole room, I looked in the closet and found that I had been sent a load of clothes like the ones I was wearing now, and a casual outfit…Well, I'll never wear it… the oddest thing was there was a blacksmiths clothes in there as well, and a note attached, saying :Please come to the blade smiths tomorrow, we can work on that weapon of yours and maybe your armor.

I took my boots off and walked over to the window I had been provided with, not really much, but enough to see outside, I looked up at the sky and could just see images of home, so I just went to bed. My body did ache after that training and it was easy to sleep here, in comfort and safety.

_I did wonder back then if I would get along with Zhou Tai and Ling Tong, but I had bigger things to think about, like the letter being in English and the tune I knew from my time being known in around 200ad, still, at least it's known._

* * *

EDITS**-**O:the song has been changed, as it didn't really make sense to be singing a random japanese song that you don't know the lyrics to at all. and the new song makes a good difference in the story (you'll see)

and, if your wondering, it's Nanaku no Hana, or flower of hell/ plant of beneath (thats literal translations for you), which is the intro song for the anime 'Higurashi no naku koro ni kai' or, if it EVER gets dubbed, when they cry hope (or something like that. i know Rei means gratitude): end o-edit. this edit is brought to you by the random kid who sings chocolate rain (somehow got it into the college guys heads once lol)


	9. the rising pheonix

Chapter 8: The rising phoenix

_Back then, we didn't how determined Ling Tong would be, that was why it came as a surprise later on_

Me and Sarah had woken up early the next morning, eager to get breakfast and see what this blade smith, we knew we needed better armour, as our current set was just half leather, half iron (And, I hasten to add, ALREADY showing signs of rust) we too our weapons, making sure they were sheathed, we didn't want to get into trouble on our first official day in Wu.

When we got into the dining hall, as we now called it, the tables were mainly empty, looking outside the sun had just risen, which was the earliest I had ever been up, not sure about Sarah though but I assumed the same. We got served the same as last time, but instead of peach buns, we got a bowl of rice.

We sat down at a table and dug in, talking about the previous few days, how the battles and events had gone. Some officers came in, followed by some soldiers, we were still the only two on our table, until Gan came along, and I can tell you, he didn't look like a morning person.

"Morning, Gan" I said cheerfully, he looked at me slightly oddly.

"Morning, Fu, Nu, what's going on?" He asked back, I crossed my arms and put on an upset face.

"I only wanted to say morning"

"Alright, sorry, it's just that Ling Tong"

"That guy you were arguing with yesterday" Sarah said.

"Yeah, him, and I'm sorry about your training"

"Don't worry"

"Anyway, he keeps on starting on me because of the battle of Xia Kou, you know, I killed his father"

"Well, I can't see what's wrong with that; you killed him in self defence"

"I know, but he is young and doesn't exactly understand"

"Oh, I see, he's dragging the battlefield home with him" I said.

"Yeah, he's already been disciplined thrice; I can't see why he won't drop it"

"Don't worry, Gan, he will someday"

"I hope so"

We then heard a chinking of armour as someone walked towards the table. Sarah was in the perfect position to see who it was, but she kept quiet. I then noticed someone sit the opposite side of me. Looking at them, I saw Zhou Tai; his face seemed emotionless, then Sun Quan sitting next to him.

"Good Morning, Everyone" he said, everyone replied in kind, then digging into their food.

"So then lord Quan" Gan started, swallowing a few bits of rice. "What's the plan for the next few days?"

"Well, according to our scouts, a relative of the emperor is coming to Wu"

"Really, who?"

"You know Lord Lui Bei, prefect of Jing at the moment?"

"Oh, him, yeah"

"He is trying to get away from Cao Cao's forces; we've offered him aid as we both need to fight him sooner or later"

I then swallowed a few bits of rice and looked at Quan, hoping to ask a question.

"Who's Lui Bei?" I asked, it obviously didn't need explaining I didn't know these lands.

"Lui Bei is a descendent of the Han emperors of old, he is planning on restoring the Han Dynasty to its former glory" Quan explained

"Any officers we should know about?"

"He has four officers at the moment, his two sworn brothers, Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, both are supposed to have the strength of a thousand men…"

"Now that I'd like to see"

"…Zhao Yun, the loyal 'little dragon' of Chang Sha, far to the north and Zhuge Liang, the 'sleeping dragon', the 2nd best strategist in the land to date"

"This should be an interesting meeting"

"Who's the best strategist then?" Sarah asked, everyone, including me, looked at her as if it was obvious.

"Lord Zhou Yu is, obviously, the best" Quan answered.

"Oh, sorry my lord"

"Don't worry, your new and have yet to see his skills"

I looked round the room, the rest of the tables had filled up quite quickly. I couldn't see Ling Tong anywhere in the room. While we didn't exactly get along, I did worry about him, coincidentally, I had finished my meal.

"Lord Sun Quan, Where is the border between Wu and Cao Cao's forces?" I asked, I may have had an idea.

"Why do you ask?" Gan replied.

"If Ling Tong is that desperate for revenge, he might join Cao Cao just to kill you whenever the next battle is"

Everyone looked at me in shock, they hadn't thought of that, but I was right, what if he was that desperate, desperate enough to betray his army. Zhou Tai stood up, his armour chinking as he did so.

"I will go" he said his voice sounded broken and rough.

"Very well, Lord Fu Xi, Zhou Tai will show you the way" Sun Quan told me, I did that hand thing they did, bowing as I did so.

"My lord" I said, simply, I then started walking out of the palace, Zhou Tai following, we both had our weapons with us.

Zhou Tai stayed behind me as we made our way around the palace, eventually winding up at the stables. (I had had a few wild guess where they were located, getting it on the third try) we found that there were about 6 horses in there, all saddled up and ready to go.

"Well, which one do you want then?" I asked him, he stayed silent and got onto a black horse, putting the sword and sheath onto the side of the saddle. I took a white horse, getting on and holding my sword at my side. "So, shall we go then?"

He kicked his horse into a gallop, leaving the stables, and me, behind; I did the same, trying to keep up with him, near falling off my horse as I did so. The stable flew by me as I came out onto…Well, I guess city streets, the houses all looked small and wooden, nothing like back home and the streets were well maintained, nice and clean.

Once I caught up to Zhou Tai, I slowed to stay just behind him, he was leading me somewhere, I knew it, I just didn't know where. He led me out of the city into the country side, more roads, some of them dirt tracks but roads none the less.

"Where would he be if I'm right?" I asked him, he looked at me; the scars on his right eye became more evident.

"Near He Fei" he answered. I looked on, hoping I was wrong about Ling Tong.

"What do we do if he is going to betray us?"

"Kill him"

"Well at least let me try to persuade him against that course of action"

"Very well"

We rode for what felt like an hour in the same direction, eventually seeing someone riding a brown horse, laden with bags of…God only knows, the guy wore red clothes, almost exactly like Ling Tong's. we rode up along side, looking at his face, sure enough it was the man we were looking for, he looked at us in surprise, thinking that he should have gotten away by now.

"Well, Ling Tong, what are you up to?" I asked, putting my sword over my shoulder, not in a threatening way, just to balance it and make it so I didn't hurt my hand too much.

"What do you two want?" he asked, looking straight back towards where he was going.

"Lord Sun Quan wonders where you are"

"Heading my own way"

"Will you defect?" Zhou Tai asked.

"Depends really. No one really knows what I'm going through"

"Well, maybe it would be better if you stayed then" I told him.

"Why? I'm not going to get along that pirate scum"

"Gan is a better guy then you think he is"

"Yeah right"

"Think about it, he could have killed you back at Xia Kou, but he didn't"

"True, but I never really gave him a chance either"

"All your friends are in Wu, who in Cao Cao's forces will accept you?"

"I've heard he is a good ruler, equal in talent and might"

"But that only gets you so far"

"What do you mean?"

"While he may be a just and good ruler, he is too busy trying to further his own ambition without thinking of others from what I heard during my time in Jing" I'll admit, I lied about that, but best not to say it now.

"So?"

"Sun Quan cares about his officers and troops, that is what draws so many men of talent to his side, not his position"

"Hmm, your right, Fu, but that doesn't change what I think of that pirate"

"It doesn't have to; you can fight him as much as you want, just don't leave Wu, alright"

He considered these words carefully, staying in the country he served or killing the pirate he hated, which ever one he chose would be a long and difficult road, I felt a little bit more would sway him, which was when Zhou Tai came in.

"Think of your father" he spoke, Ling then looked up at the sky, thinking. I could guess what about, 'What would his father say to him now?' was the first thing, which would most likely be answered with 'keep with Wu'.

"Alright then" he started, looking at me and Zhou Tai in turn. "I will stay, but I will still fight that pirate from time to time"

"What ever keeps you in Wu, besides, we need everyone we can get these days" I told him, holding my fist out in friendship, punching it in one of those friendly ways.

"Shall we return?" Zhou Tai asked.

"May as well do, we can help out for this Lui Bei fellow"

"Very well"

All three of us turned round and galloped back towards the palace, I hoped we weren't too late to help prepare for Lui Bei's arrival. Ling Tong rode alongside me, with Zhou Tai in the lead.

"Listen, Fu Xi" Ling started; I looked at him, listening to what he had to say. "What exactly happened…when my father died?"

"I thought you got the report" I answered.

"I was told he was killed and fell into the Chang Jiang River"

"Well…It all began when Nu and I were in Gan's unit for the battle of Xia Kou…"

And I basically started to explain what happened that day from when we set up on the island…

_Zhou Tai isn't a bad guy, from what I had seen, he follows his masters orders to the letter, Ling Tong wasn't either, he just wanted to avenge his father. I can understand why, but that doesn't mean he can just go ahead and Kill Gan, after I had finished explaining the events of the day, he apologised to me, doing the same to Sarah._

_Thankfully, we had only been gone two hours, and then she had waited for us to return. I knew we had to do some things during that day to get ready for this 'Lui Bei', Sarah's armour and weapons were like mine, already rusting, not a good thing to show to a potential conqueror _


	10. relaxation plan

Sorry it's been so long, but I've been trying to end one of my other stories, it's almost over so if I don't update for a while, be patient. All good things and all that

* * *

Chapter 9: relaxation plan

_Sometimes I did think about the next few battles, and then worry about them, but then I would relax and think that whatever happened would happen. I believe Sarah was the same, but just a bit more tense then me._

Sarah and I walked through the city after our little talk with Ling, he did apologise for his actions but told us that he would keep up his campaign against Gan, I had given up at that point, if he wanted to kill Gan, then he would have to keep on going alone, one day he would see the truth, I knew it, he did give us a map of the city as a gift.

We walked out of the palace into the residential area of the city, heading towards the industrial district, our weapons and armour still by our sides, looking round for a blacksmith of some sort. The buildings were made out of a combination of stone and wood, not like back in Jing. Everyone we walked by that wasn't a member of the military bowed in respect, I could feel my face blush after the sixth time, and it occurred about 30 odd times.

"I don't think I'll get used to that" I told Sarah, putting my hands behind my head and shaking my head.

"Well, I guess we will have some recognition for our deeds on the battlefield" Sarah told me, smiling at the same time.

"True, but it's not exactly something I got back home" I looked at her, seeing he smile, that was enough to keep me silent on that conversation. I put my arms by my side, walking through the street with Sarah at my side.

We walked through the street, seeing a market set up with plenty of gold changing hands for what we would consider small goods, carvings, seeds and things like that. Nothing like our time when electronics would change hands for much more. I looked around, seeing someone in a black uniform looking round the market square; standing outside what I assumed was her home, A big chimney sticking out of the top, black smoke coming from it and a strong smell of sulphur in the air.

She looked in our direction, waving as he saw me looking at him, I grabbed Sarah's arm and dragged her over to this person.

"Sir, madam, are you two, by any chance, Lord Fu Xi and Lady Nu Wa?" she asked us, we looked at each other, thinking how to answer.

"We are" Sarah answered, bowing to the man.

"Who would you be, madam?" I asked him.

"My name is Xing Hai, blacksmith for the officers of the Wu army" she answered, bowing to us, Sarah got back up, looking at the young woman. I only just started to take in her details, she was quite tall, with a good figure and her blonde hair was quite long and straight, her hazel eyes showed a determination that betrayed her apparent age.

"If you would follow me inside" she said, turning round and walking into the house, Sarah followed first, I stayed outside a bit, looking round at the market to see if any soldiers were doing the patrol rounds, all I saw was one soldier standing in a shop selling stuff. I then walked in after them.

The inside was well ventilated, lots of windows and holes in the roof (I then chuckled as I thought about what might happen if it rained) Sarah and Xing were in one corner, looking around the various tools of the trade, a hammer, a tonsil and an Anvil were the first things I saw, I didn't know what the rest were, but my curiosity was at it's peak.

"So, what do you guys want?" she asked, shoving some coal into a flame filled……thing, I'm not exactly sure what it's called, but it was definitely hot, I was boiling just standing in the room.

"Well, I think the best thing is a bit of derusting" Sarah explained, getting her rapier and shield out and showing her them, Xing looked over the pair, seeing they grand design and age, whistling after she was done.

"These look like they were made by a master craftsman" She replied, looking at the whole shield. "I think I may be able to make these two lighter yet stronger if you want"

"That would be great" Sarah answered, smiling as she did so.

"Well, what do you think you can do with this?" I asked Xing, getting my blade out of its sheath (Nearly falling over doing do) and showing it to her, she grabbed it in one hand and held it up, doing all the noises of someone interested in this stuff.

"Well, I think I can make it lighter, but I will have to reforge the core of the blade to do so" she answered.

"What's that in English?"

"I'll have to remove the gold bit, which will mean melting it down and making a brand new blade or I can hammer it out and coat the blade in silver to cover the hole"

"I think I'll go with option two"

"Well, that will still take time"

I leaned against a wall, thinking about this, we would be unarmed for a bit, but that didn't mean we couldn't do it. I sniffed the air, smelling something cooking.

"What's cooking?" I asked, noticing the smell getting stronger and a heat building up on my backside, Sarah stood and looked shocked, Elencia the same.

"Lord Xi, your rear is on fire" she said. I looked at it and saw a flame building up. I yelled in pain and ran around, trying to put it out, eventually dunking it into a barrel of water, and breathing out in relief. I'll admit, it was funny if you watched it, but it wasn't funny to be the person on fire.

"Ok, that was weirdly ironic" I said, getting my wet backside out of the water, I looked at it and found a hole in the clothe but no hole in the steel, thank god, that would have been embarrassing.

"Ok, now that that is settled, come back in about, let's see, seven hours" she told us, I looked at Sarah, wondering if we had that time, she smiled, obviously with some idea of what to do.

"Yeah, that'll do, we'll come back at sunset then" she answered. Ok, she definitely has a plan, I was now scared, I didn't know anything.

"Very well, I'll do it for no charge this time, so save up your gold for the next time"

"Thanks, but we don't exactly have a place to get gold" I replied.

"You haven't do much fighting have you"

"Not really, just one major battle"

"Well, when you raid an enemy base, grab what you can or even better, sell these weapons" she eyed the equipment greedily. "I could pay you loads for these"

"Sorry, no sale, just work on them"

She looked at me, her face showing a frown, as if upset at that answer, but she worked on them anyway, getting on with the weapon, we didn't hang around after that, leaving her to her work. When we were outside, Sarah held her hands together, I just had to ask.

"Ok, what do you have planned?" I asked, she looked at me, an evil smile on her face. She then pulled out a scroll, unrolling it and looking at it.

"East of here is a waterfall surrounded by a forest" she started, showing me the map, I saw what she meant, it was to the west of us and not too far away.

"Why do I get the feeling that your next few words are…" I started.

"Let's go have a picnic" we both said at the same time, then looking at each other and laughing. I stopped first, closely followed by her.

"I don't see anything wrong with it" I told her, she instantly smiled at this. "I agree, but if something comes up then we have to do that first, right?"

"Of course, duty before self" she answered, putting her arm along her chest.

"Ok then, I'll get the horses, you get some food"

"Any preferences?"

"Anything apple, peach or meat"

"Ok, I'll get them and a bag together, and then we can be off"

"Meet you at the west gate"

She ran off to gather the food for our little trip; I walked back to the palace, seeing Lu Meng, in his armour with his pike with him, walking towards town with someone younger then him. He looked like a young boy, about my age; he wore a red tunic, covering all of his body. His face was as pure as it was young and he wore a hat with two bronze coloured wings. Lu saw me and walked over, the boy following.

"Fu Xi, just the man I was looking for" he said, punching me on the shoulder.

"What's up old man?" I joked, smiling as I did so.

"Very funny" the boy said, sarcastically.

"Now, now, Lu Xun, what did I tell you?" Lu scolded.

"Hang on, Lu Xun?" I asked, confused.

"Yes, my adopted son" he answered.

"Oh, so I guess he will be alongside you in battle"

"Actually, lord Fu Xi; I'm joining you at the next battle" Lu Xun answered.

"Oh, that's different; I thought new officers were meant to go with veterans"

There was this odd silence between the three of us, as if I had hit a bad note, which was when I realised it.

"You mean I'm working alongside Lu Xun" I said, seemingly unimpressed.

"Yes" Lu Xun answered. "I have fought for about three years now, ever since the failed assault on Xu Chang"

"We lost a good leader that day" Lu Meng spoke, looking up at the heavens.

"Who was it?" I asked.

"We lost Lord Sun Ce there, shot in the back by an archer" Lu Meng looked upset as he finished this sentence. "He died aged 20, too young to die in my book"

"And that was when your attention turned to Jing I presume"

"Yeah, we needed to expand in order to withstand the next assault"

"Ok" I looked round, seeing Sarah still in the market, arguing with a trader over some meat. "I'm sorry, but I've gotta run, got to get those horses for our little break"

"Ahh, I understand, get going, she isn't going to wait forever" Meng told me, I ran by, waving as I did so.

When I got to the palace, I went straight towards the stables, running as fast as I could. As I turned a corner, I bumped into Sun Quan, with Zhou Tai at his side. Both me and Quan fell to the ground, groaning in pain, I looked up, seeing Zhou Tai advance on me, Sword drawn.

"Traitor…" He spoke, getting ready to slash me; I rolled out of the way, kicking his legs as I did so.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see milord there and I'm in a hurry" I told him, he slashed at my legs; I jumped it, grabbed his sword sheath and started using it as a shield. He slowly got back up.

"Coward…" he called me, slashing again, which I blocked with the sheath, man the strength he possessed was…amazing. He slashed again, and got blocked again; Sun Quan swung his blade in the middle, keeping Zhou Tai's blade down.

"Zhou Tai, enough" he commanded, The loyal officer withdrew his blade, grabbed the sheath I held and putting his sword away.

"My lord…" he said, bowing to Sun Quan. Quan looked at me, angrily; I immediately bowed to save grace.

"I'm sorry, my lord" I told him.

"Be careful Fu" he told me, putting his hand on my shoulder; I looked at his face and saw a smile instead of the anger. "Forgive Zhou Tai; he is very protective of me"

I got up, my face red with embarrassment, and shit scared I might set Zhou Tai off again.

"That was my fault my lord" I replied.

"What were you rushing round for anyway?" he asked.

"Well, me and Lady Nu Wa are planning on a little trip out into Wu's country side, to get used to it"

"So a day out is it?" Sun Quan asked, stroking his chin.

"Yes my lord"

"Well, I can't see the harm in it, make sure to come back though, I don't want to send someone to find you"

"We will my lord"

"I guess you need two horses then" I simply nodded "Well, I suppose I can send someone to help pick your friend up"

"That would be greatly appreciated my lord"

He turned round, clapping his hands and slamming a foot down on the floor. "Show yourself, Spy master!" he shouted, a cloud of black smoke appeared in front of him, when it dissipated, I saws what I assumed was a ninja, and guess who it was. Shimao Kong.

"My lord" he spoke, bowing on the ground.

"Ah, Shinra, good timing" I walked forward with the intent of beating the hell out of Shimao, Zhou stopped me, sensing my intent, Quan looked in my direction, seeing my action. "What is wrong, Lord Fu?"

"That's Shimao Kong, the guy who tortured me after the battle of Xia Kou" told him, Quan looked at his spy in surprise.

"Is that True, Shinra?" he asked.

"Every word, but sometimes you have to to keep working for an opposing power" the spy answered

"Good enough"

"Your order my lord?"

"Take a horse and go with Fu Xi, when you see his friend, get off the horse and come back here"

"No problem for a shadow"

"Ok, see you later, lord Fu"

Quan walked off with Zhou Tai following, I looked at Shimao, or Shinra, wondering what to do with him.

"Well…Come on then, duty calls" I said, walking towards the stable, I couldn't hear his footsteps, so guess how surprised I was when he appeared in front of me.

"Speed up" he told me, I then ran ahead to get a horse for Me and one for Sarah, so I didn't have to rely on him that much.

"So, back in Jing, when you tortured me…" I started.

"All for Cao Cao to make it look like I was loyal to him" he replied.

"So what does he think you're doing now?"

"Recon on the Wu army, numbers and so on"

"Ok then"

The rest of the trip was silence, I preferred it that way I suppose…

_I was excited to think 'a day out in a foreign land, ought to be fun' but I was almost scared to death when Zhou Tai started on me. But what I couldn't believe was that Shimao was around as a Wu spy…That I just couldn't see…not easiliy anyway_


	11. the wandering army of Virtue

I'm back, and with my first story done, I now have more time to focus on this story.

And in the last chapter I put down Ce dying three years ago, well the idea is Jing didn't know about the battle as Wu kept it covered up, until the assault on Jing when they put out the message saying Quan had taken over.

Right, now that's cleared up, moving on.

Chapter 10: the wandering army of virtue

_You know, sometimes I look back at that day, wondering what would have happened if we hadn't had that talk._

As we left the palace on our horses, me and Shinra started talking, his story was basically he had grown up as a peasant in a nearby village, which was destroyed in the previous 'lord's', a Lui Yong, started his campaign for the region. He fought as part of the militia against them, but lost either way.

"…The village was destroyed for its 'insolence' or it's free spirit" he finished, looking down at the horse.

"That is an awful thing to go through" I replied, lying back on my horse, quite comfortably might I add, I occasionally got up to steer the horse.

"You don't know the least of it…Craig"

I got up as he finished this, hearing my real name was a big surprise, I doubted any one, apart from Sarah, Gan and my other Cohorts in Jing. I looked at him, seeing the cunning in his eyes.

"How do you know that?" I asked him, he looked me dead in the eye, the cunning now changed to…evil-ness is the only way I can describe it.

"I know many things, Craig. Like your blade is from no treasure hunt, and that you and Sarah hail from foreign lands" he answered, his voice now unnerving.

"Whoa, you know Sarah's name as well?" I looked round, thank god no one else was nearby, but I was unnerved by the fact I was unarmed, and if he wanted to, he could kill me with his swords.

"You'd be surprised what a spymaster can find"

"Why do I get the feeling I can't trust you?" I asked him, seeing his eyes were coloured red…another odd thing about this fellow.

"Some of us have been fighting longer then you have"

"Well that obvious, I know that Lord Zhou Yu is more experienced then me"

"Ah, Zhou Yu, I remember his skill well"

"What do you mean?"

"I fought alongside him in an engineer battalion at Xu Chang, he was brilliant back then, showing me the weak points in the gates position that I could capitalise on"

"Well, I guess you're lucky then, I've only fought against that same skill"

He stopped his horse, I looked round and found we wee at the gate me and Sarah had organised to meet at, stopping my horse in full view of the gateway. Shinra dismounted, walking back towards the palace.

"Take care of you, Crag" he said, suddenly a black cloud of smoke engulfed him which, when it dispersed, seems to spirit him away to another dimension or something like that. I hated being called Crag, so I made sure to mentally jot that down and moan at him next time I saw him.

A few minutes after this, I saw Sarah walk out of the gates, a bag over her shoulder; I grabbed it so she could get on her horse, strapping the bag to the saddle of my horse.

"Right then" she started, riding up along side me. "Are you ready?"

"Lead the way. My lady" I replied, smiling. She kicked her horse into a gallop, me following along quite closely.

The wind felt nice as we rode through the countryside. The stone ground beneath us gave way to vast grassy plains and the occasional field full of rice, corn, wheat or even a pig farm. It was all very well set out, with borders between separate fields and owners clearly set out, although some of the scarecrows weren't thought out well, with it being a man in armour with what I recognised as a halberd.

Eventually, after about an hour of riding, Sarah stopped her horse with a wood to the left, I followed suit, hoping not to ram her. She got the map out of a pouch, opening out and reading it.

"This is where we are" she informed me, pointing to a bit of road near, what looked like, a dense forest with a river running through it. "And we want to be at that river"

"So, South we go" I replied getting off my horse, grabbing the pouch and walking towards the woods. Sarah followed suit, getting something else out which I couldn't really see.

When we were about ten feet away, one of the horses neighed; we both turned round and saw them run back to the palace. Great…there goes our ride back, I saw Sarah, out of the corner of my eye, look at me angrily. I just put my free hand on the back of head, scratching it in surprise.

We kept on going towards the waterfall, picking up a few sticks along the way, some of them were strong…strong enough to be used as an improvised weapon if needed. The food in my hand was quite light and smelled good, and the thing Sarah had gotten off her horse was on her back, but because I walked ahead of her all the time, I couldn't see it, but it looked like a weapon of some sort, most likely a bow.

Eventually, we found what we were looking for, a massive waterfall with the forest all the way around it. We were at the bottom of the falls and the cliff it was going down was VERY high, suffice to say it was as tall as…well, I couldn't really compare it, as I've never really seen any of the waterfalls, but it was big.

I sat on the ground, putting the pouch next to me, Sarah did the same, but sat a bit more…tense to me, I just laid down and looked at the sky.

"You know, this place isn't that bad" I commented, closing my eyes. "But I hope we get home"

"Doesn't everyone Craig?" she snapped, it seemed a bit much, but I could understand.

"I know, but everyone we know here was born and raised in China, we were born and raised over a thousand miles away with a completely different set of cultures and laws, and languages"

"Don't you think I know that?" she snapped again, I got up this time, annoyed at this.

"What's wrong with you then?" I asked, she seemed so upbeat and happy earlier.

"What do you think? We're away from home and waiting for this 'Lui Bei' to show up" she replied.

"And is any of that my fault?"

She looked at me, about to snap again, but I think she saw something in my eye that stopped her. I watched her as she sighed and looked at the waterfall.

"No, it isn't" she answered

"So why take it out on me?" I asked her

"Because you're the only one who really understands what I'm going through"

"Well, going at it like that isn't going to help our situation is it?"

"No" I heard her say, I stayed where I was for a bit, considering our journey so far, while not much had happened It was a lot for two fresh, untrained recruits to expect.

"Look" I said, putting my hand on her shoulder. "We are in this together. We'll find a way out of here, I swear upon my very life"

She looked at me, despair evident in her eyes, I knew I couldn't get rid of it that easily, but maybe I could contribute to getting it removed. We both heard a rustle behind us. I got up, picking up the stick I got from earlier and holding it as a sword. Sarah pulled a bow off her back and got an arrow out of the package, so I figured I was right earlier.

We looked at the forest, seeing a figure advance our way, we both tensed up, blood pumping through us. We were then surprised as a young man, wearing green all over his body with a pointy beard, stepped out with a sword in his hand, followed by four others. One was wearing green all over, with a shoulder guard and a massive beard, along with a long pole arm. Another was wearing blue plate mail with a long pony tail and pole arm as well. The third wore proper battle armour all over his body, with a helmet on his head and a pike. While the last wore white robes and held a white feather fan.

"Who are you lot?" I asked, holding my 'blade' firmly.

"I suggest that you speak to my lord and us four in a friendlier manner" the one in blue told me, standing in front of the swords man with spear ready.

"Who are you?" Sarah asked, bow ready to fire.

"Calm down, all three of you" The swords man ordered, me, Sarah and the spear guy all looked surprised.

"Very well my lord" the spearman answered, relaxing and moving behind his lord.

"Sorry about that. My name is Lui Bei" The swords man told us, bowing before us, me and Sarah relaxed as he said this. "Last descendent of the Han dynasty"

"I am Guan Yu" the one with the beard told us, his voice was quite deep. "Sworn brother to brother Bei"

"The name's Zhang Fei" the pike bearer told us, seeing out pouch and drooling "Other sworn bother of Lui Bei"

"Oh, well, I am Fu Xi, officer of Wu" I told them, not waiting for the other two to answer.

"I am Zhao Yun of Chang Sha" The one in blue told us, spinning his spear and slamming it into the ground.

"And I am Zhuge Liang, chief strategist to the Shu forces" The one in white told us, doing a little bow.

"So, that leaves me" Sarah spoke, everyone, including me, looked at her. "I am Nu Wa, another officer of Wu"

"Pleased to meet you two" Lui Bei told us, he then looked at the others behind him "Looks like we're in Wu territory"

"Lord Lui Bei, this is completely according to plan" Zhuge Liang replied, still fanning. "If we follow these two back to their headquarters, then I'm sure we can find Lord Quan"

"He does have a point brother" Guan Yu continued.

"Very well" Lui Bei responded, putting his sword away and turning back to us looking round for something or someone. "Where's Zhang Fei?"

We looked round, hearing a chomping and drinking noise which was emanating from our left, and seeing Zhang Fei having OUR picnic, Sarah quickly loaded her bow and fired it at him, hitting him square in the rump, he yelped in pain, knocking our picnic into the water.

"Dammit" I said, looking at the ground in sadness, Lui Bei and Guan Yu looked angry, but at the same time, looked quite entertained as Zhang Fei ran around the place with an arrow in his arse, he occasionally jumped up and down, yelling things that are a bit beyond our vocabulary at the moment; he eventually pulled the arrow out, saying 'my meat bun' as he notice the bun floating down stream.

"Well, there goes our day plan" Sarah commented, putting the bow onto her back.

"I was really looking forward to this as well" I moaned, getting back up from my position.

"Oh well, I guess we got to see the country side"

"True"

"If I may interrupt" Zhuge Liang started, we both looked at him. "We need to find Lord Sun Quan, so we may plan for our fight against Cao Cao"

"Well…I guess we're heading back now" Sarah answered, looking at me. "Right"

"We were finished here anyway, so I guess we may as well head back" I continued, throwing the stick on the ground. "I hope you guys like walking, as that is the only way we have of getting back"

"We have been walking since leaving Jing" Lui Bei told us, he held a fist in front of him. "Right now, Sun Quan is protecting us from Cao Cao's pursuit, so unless we get to him quickly, we will have lost our chance"

"Well, follow us then" Sarah told them.

We walked back out of the forest, heading towards the path we had left earlier, while we hadn't stayed out as long as I hoped, I still had a clear head, which was the main reason I had left the palace in the first place.

'_Shinra…Why don't I trust him' was the first question that popped into my head after that talk, but Sarah…well; there must be a reason for her sudden change, I just had to figure out that reason._

If I can, I will update this more often, but I have no access to the game for a while, so the only way I can check is Wiki, and that has sketchy information to say the least, so forgive me if some details are wrong.


	12. Training and new gear

I'm back wit a new chapter, sorry its been so long

I'm back with a new chapter; sorry it's been so long

Chapter 11: Preparations

_You know, I can't really see why she chose to do that back then, but maybe it was the best thing for her._

"Why are we here again?" I asked, standing in the training room with a long sword (I don't know why we used real ones now) in my hand, taking a relaxed pose.

"Well, it's best for us I suppose" Sarah replied, holding a spear in her hands. She swung the spear at me and I blocked.

"Yeah, I know, but why can't we just once do something other then fight or practise?"

"Well, we have to do our duty I suppose" She then span round and tried a low swing, which I jumped over, I'll be honest I was to busy thinking about Shinra to attack back, but I was good at dodging her, it has to be said, Gan was on our left, watching us practise.

"Nu, move your feet, Fu, start properly fighting" He told us, Sarah moved her stance accordingly, I just kept on defending, too much going through my head to care about what I was doing, I just kept dodging and defending. "Fu, are you listening?"

"Yeah, I hear yer" I told him, stepping back from a swift swing "just give me a minute, Alright?"

"What's up with you?" Sarah asked me, swinging her spear again; I grabbed it and yanked it out of her hands.

"See, I just needed a minute" I replied, looking smug and dropping my sword.

"Ok, I'll let you off there, but what is going through your mind right now?" Gan asked, walking over to us and putting Sarah into a different stance.

"Not much really, just what Lui Bei might want with Sun Quan" I answered, lying.

"Fair enough, even I don't know what he wants" The pirate answered.

"Do what you do best, Craig, relax" Sarah told me. I was really starting to regret not telling Sarah about Shinra, but I thought she would worry if I mentioned it.

"I know I should, but I can't seem to for some reason" I answered, I walked over to the inventory, getting a two-blade sword out and getting back to my spot, Sarah picked up the long sword and took me on with that.

"Right, this time, do it properly" Gan told us, going to one side and sitting down. "Begin"

Sarah swung her blade at my quite quickly, but I blocked it with my blade quicker, then moving the blade round to her neck, getting close enough for it to be a win, but not close enough to draw blood. That should have been enough to make them think I was fine.

"Good enough?" I asked, pulling the blade back and resting it on my shoulder.

"Alright, calm down" Gan told me, he took our weapons and put them on the rack. "Jeez I've never seen you this…peppy"

"Just takes me a while to get going"

"Just relax Craig, something good will come of this" Sarah told me.

Gan looked at the door, me and Sarah followed suit, I think we both knew to trust him when he did something, I thought he had heard something, and I think Sarah thought the same.

Suddenly, the door burst open, revealing the three warriors from before…What were their names again…oh yeah, Zhao Yun, Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, each held their weapons in their hand, in a relaxed way.

"Lord Fu Xi, Lady Nu Wa, Good to see you again" Zhao Yun told us, he did that hand, which I returned, Sarah did the same.

"My lords, what do we owe for this meeting?" Sarah asked.

"We have come here to meet three of Lord Sun Quan's new recruits" Guan Yu told us.

"Well, that's us, what can we do you for?" I asked.

"We were hoping for a bit of practise with you three" Zhang Fei replied, throwing his pike at one of the archery targets and hitting it with pin point accuracy. All three of us looked at it with amazement; I think I was the first to turn back.

"I'll take you on" I confidently replied, I could feel my friends looking at me in amazement, I watched Zhang Fei laugh at me.

"You think you can take me on, how old are you kid?" he asked, once he stopped laughing

"15, But age doesn't reflect skill, now does it?" I smugly replied. I walked over to the weapons, grabbing a broadsword and a pike, passing the pike to him.

"I'm keeping out the way of this" Sarah commented, walking over to one side

"Fu, are you sure you know what your doing?" Gan asked me, I looked at him, smiling and nodding at the same time. "Fair enough" he stood back, leaving us enough room to manoeuvre around each other.

I held my weapon like I would my real one, Zhang Fei did the same, but he kept moving his feet, as if unsettled about his stance.

"Come on then" I taunted, holding the blade in front of me in a defensive stance.

"Very well, Kid" he replied, rushing me with his pike, swiping it like Sarah had done before, which I simply jumped and countered, aiming for his legs.

"Easy" I commented.

"Nice try kid" he replied, slamming the butt of the pike into my chest, so that was a win, and in two moves, I had never lost that quickly.

The door opened again, revealing Sun Quan, Lui Bei, Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang, each looked serious as they looked around us and Lui Bei was carrying a box of some kind.

"Fu Xi, Nu Wa, Gan Ning, get ready to move" Sun Quan ordered. We dropped our stuff and moved past them, Lui Bei stopping me and Nu.

"I was given these by a blacksmith" he told us, splitting the box in two and giving one each. We opened them and found our weapons, all silvered over and new, along with a suit of armour each, it looked like our old suit but more…rigid, like more metal had been worked into it.

What I liked the most however was the pair of armguards, pure silver coloured, big enough for me, I put them back into the box, seeing Sarah's face was filled with the same glee, obviously something good was in there, maybe it was like her bow earlier. I do remember her being good on the archery range, and she was a good shot earlier.

"Thank you, Lord Lui Bei" I told him.

"Your welcome, Lord Fu Xi" Lui Bei replied, looking at Nu Wa and nodding "You too, Lady Nu Wa"

"Anyway, go get ready and be in the port in two hours" Quan told us "Gan; you'll have to show them the way"

"Right, let's get going" Gan told us, running off to our rooms, we both followed him, running as fast as we could.

5 Minutes later, we were in our room, getting our old armour off and getting the new set on, I picked up my broadsword, strapping it to my back. Looking under it I saw a long sword underneath it, coated in gold and inscribed with fire. Beautiful.

When I walked out, Gan looked at me, seeing the metal work in the swords and armour, doing one of those whistles.

"Thanks" I replied, hitting my chest and hearing a metal ching.

"That's some metal work" Gan told me "who's your blacksmith?"

"You know Xing Hai in town?" I asked him, seeing him nod. "She did this"

"She has some skill for such a young girl"

We then heard movement in Sarah's room, watching her door as it slid open, seeing the girl I knew wearing quite revealing clothes, she wore the same clothes she wore before, which, like mine, had been reinforced, the silver evident. She had a bladed bow over her shoulder…well, I say bladed bow, but the blades were in two sheathes at the moment. I saw her rapier in a separate sheath, and the shield properly strapped to her hand.

"How do I look?" She asked us, pulled her skirt up a bit as it was sagging.

"I don't think you'll need to look good on the battle field" I told her, walking a bit closer. "But beautiful either way"

"Thanks" she replied, smiling.

"So what's with the bow?"

"Thought I'd give it ago"

"Not meaning to interrupt this moment" Gan started, we both looked at him, listening. "We have a port to go to"

"Very well, Let get going"

We started running, following Gan again, heading through the palace towards a boat, oddly it had already started sailing up river, all three of us jumped on. (I, admittedly near missed, having to grab the side and be pulled on) we stood at the front, watching the land go by us, heading towards our second battle.

_I really did think Sarah looked good, who wouldn't, but I don't think that will matter on the battle field…Who really knows, I honestly do hope Shinra shows up for this battle._

Sorry I've been so long, but coursework, other stories and work


	13. The voyage

Back again, enjoy.

Chapter 12: the voyage

_You know the saying 'the calm before the storm'; I swear that things had been quieter since we were told to move out. I don't know why, but I couldn't wait for this battle._

Gan was doing one of those practise fights with Sarah, Sarah using a wooden version of her new bladed bow as if she had used it before. She kept her shield on and her rapier at her side, ready to retrieve if necessary, also putting on a quiver, which she filled with blunt arrows. I was sitting down getting used to my 'new' weapons; my great sword was surprisingly light, as was the long sword. My armour was a bit more restrictive then before, but not much.

"Come on Nu" Gan taunted, swinging his blade and being blocked by Sarah's bow. "Give me a challenge"

"Ok then" Sarah shoved the blade back, rolling away from Gan. "Try this"

I'm not sure what happened, but I saw her load an arrow and fire it at Gan. How she got the arrow with out reaching for it was a bit confusing, but I saw Gan block it with his sword, smiling as he did so.

"Nice move" he complimented, rushing forward.

"Try this one then" she replied, loading three arrows and firing them at the same time, Gan swung his weapon around to hit the arrows.

"Try harder next time" Gan shouted, swinging his blade in a high arc. Sarah skilfully blocking, spinning round and whacking him in the chest, laughing a bit afterwards.

"Is that good enough?" She asked, withdrawing the 'blade'.

"That'll get you through" the pirate replied.

I did a few moves with my swords, mainly focusing on wielding them individually, but occasionally using them in one hand, mainly as a block then counter move. I swung the blade down, barely missing the floor of the boat. You'd be surprised how much that small bit of exercise can wear you down, as sweat flowed down my arm.

"You're getting a bit more experienced" I heard someone say. I turned round to find Shinra, standing with both of his blades on him.

"Thanks I guess" I answered, putting both of my blades away then wandering over to the side.

"I didn't think you'd find it easy" He started, leaning on the side. "But I thought you have at least thought about some sort of trademark"

"Trademark?" Sarah intervened, walking over to the spy. "What do warriors need trademarks for? In fact what are trademarks?"

"Something about the way you use your weapon that makes you unique. I give a little jolt to my enemies every so often"

"That's inventive"

"Lord Ning, you grab your enemies and kick them don't you?"

"That's right, Shinra, it's got me through several battles in the past" Gan answered, his arms crossed as he thought of his defeat.

"I believe that Nu might be better for speed assaults and you would be better at power based techniques" Shinra finished. I thought about this a second, as it made practically no sense. But then again, any edge we don't have is a flaw the enemy may exploit.

"May as well give it a go" I spoke, getting my great sword out again.

"Just swing your blade upwards and focus on your energy going through the blade, as if it were an extension of yourself" the spy explained.

"Please don't get too deep" I moaned, scratching my head as the words settled in. "Just be thankful I know what you mean"

I held my blade at my side, getting a feel for the great sword, then kinda feeling around myself without actually touching myself. (Think about it and you'll get what I mean) I felt a little bit of coldness flow through me, not like the natural chills that everyone has; it was kinda in my blood but not in my blood if you know what I mean.

I didn't really know what I was doing, but I felt it move out of my body along my sword. My hand went cold that instant and I swear I could hear a wolf howl. I focused that energy, swinging my blade upwards. What I saw amazed me as fire danced along the blade as I did so. I continued the swing, spinning round and sweeping the blade in a line, seeing the flames continue there dance.

"Wow!" I heard Sarah say, watching in awe. What was strange was the fact that I barely noticed the flames dissipating off the blade. I looked at the blade in awe myself, wondering where this power had come from.

"Nice show" Shinra told me, keeping his swords handy. "Lady Nu, I believe that a show of the same calibre can be done with your weapon"

"What?"

"He means you can do the same if you focus on your bow" I told her. She looked at me and nodded.

"Alright, I'll give it a go"

I had a feeling that the power I felt would be different in her case, but then that brought up a question: if I felt the cold, why was it flames? I put the blade away, watching Sarah close her eyes and focus, like I had done. She held the bow in front of her, people standing out of the way to let her do this. I was surprised when she pulled out an arrow, spinning it in her hand, loading it and firing in the space of two seconds.

I looked at where she had fired, as did everyone else, the arrow had…well, multiplied into many, and I could see ice formed around these. I looked at Sarah, her eyes open and full of shock as she saw this skill. I walked up to her, making sure she was ok.

"That was cool" I commented, pun intended, she looked at me and smiled, we had two weapons that the enemy couldn't steal…thank the gods.

"If I may interrupt" Shinra started, both me and Sarah looked at him. "Lady Nu, we are to move with Lord Zhao Yun along the east bank, Lord Fu, you are to defend the shrine with Lord Zhuge Liang and Lord Lu Xun"

"What's going on now?" Gan asked, walking over to the spy.

"Lord Sun Quan has just sent us the plan, Zhuge Liang shall call forth the wind, the rest hold of Cao Cao until then" the spy looked at me as if to say 'Screw up and your DEAD' "Lord Zhou Yu is looking for able sailors to take the front line, As Pang Tong will chain the enemy ships together"

"I guess that's were I come in" Gan spoke; he put his hand on Sarah's and My shoulders. "Relax and show them the strength of Wu and Jing, along with your personal skills"

He then walked off to the other side of the boat, I didn't bother wondering in why, it wasn't really my place to know and I'm sure he would tell us if it important. I sat down on the boat, thinking of the battle ahead.

I just hope Shinra and Zhao Yun don't screw up.

_If I'm honest, that coldness inside me did freak me out. When you look inside yourself, you expect in most cases for a warm, loving feel, not cold._

_Maybe something's going to happen to me and Sarah, or something else…either way; I shall do what I can for Wu_

I know it's been a while, but I had a slight writer's block, mainly over how to do the charge attacks and what to call them.

This might be seen as cheating, but next chapter will start after they are positioned, so Sarah might not show. Shinra might, but I think I'll keep him with Sarah.


	14. Red cliffs

Back again, enjoy

Just so you know, I'm using the name for the battle in China, so this is just the battle of Chi Bi.

* * *

Chapter 13: Red cliffs

_I did think while moving into position about a few things. This was our first major battle…and I mean more major then Jing. Would we come back in one piece or would something happen?_

"Tell me again what we're doing?" I asked Xun whilst moving a few pots around.

"Setting up the shrine for Lord Zhuge Liang" he told me, he seemed oddly peppy right now, as if he had a want for Zhuge Liang to succeed. Well, I for one didn't know what the plan was as I wasn't invited to that meeting. "Once we're done here, we are to defend this area"

"Well, that seems easy" I replied, sarcastically, finishing moving the pots. "So where is the man in question?"

As I said this, Zhuge Liang walked up some stairs to the altar, holding his fan in his hand.

"Master Xi, I require use of your long sword for this ceremony" he started, walking over to me slowly. "I need it so that I may summon forth the wind and grant our united force victory"

"Look, I missed out on that meeting, mind filling me in?" I asked him, unstrapping the sword from my belt.

"The forces of Wu command the Navy, while Lui Bei's wandering Militia handle the tactics and espionage" Xun told me, walking over to me and moving his hands around as he explained. "Master Pang Tong will chain the enemy ships together, Lord Zhuge Liang will summon forth a wind, if that's possible, and somehow the Wu navy will set Cao Cao's fleet aflame" Xun looked back, seeing the units of spears and bows assembled. "But I don't think this will be enough to beat him back"

"Hey, don't worry Xun" I told him, passing my sword to Zhuge Liang. "We will win, just have faith, alright?" I looked at him, seeing him get his swords ready. "Besides, we have to believe that we'll all return home"

He remained silent after this, Zhuge Liange getting the sword out and doing some weird dance while speaking in a different language altogether. Both me and Xun left the shrine, giving him space to work.

The shrine was set up on a hill, protected by the terrain. I looked at the soldiers, seeing them nervous about the battle. I knew I couldn't really do anything. I got my blade out, thinking of how Sarah might be doing. I stood next to a spearman, hoping to get in on some combat.

Five minutes passed then an hour, then two. Still no enemy sightings, no reports of what's going on any of the other fronts, After three hours we had our first report…Pang Tong had succeeded in his ploy, but still no combat.

"Why am I almost always the last one into battle?" I moaned, putting my sword into the ground, standing next to it and looking into the distance. I was missing out on one hell of a battle jut to protect some shrine. Why couldn't we just move out and attack them head on?

My 'prayers' were answered when I saw a load of horsemen in the distance, their lances ready and their plate armour shiny and blue. I made out the shape of an officer among their ranks. A young man with a pole arm of some kind, His light blue armour and…hat really did stand out, and a cape…who wears a cape on the battlefield?

"Men of Wei, we must defeat whatever plan these men of Wu have!" he told his men, his voice sounded a bit deep, but not very. He held his weapon high and his men did the same, cheering as they did so. I could see some of the men in our ranks quiver, saying the name 'Zhang Liao'. I didn't know why they were scared, but I wasn't about to let it stand.

"Men of Wu!" I started, grabbing my sword and resting it on my shoulder. "We have been entrusted with guarding Lord Zhuge Liang!" I walked in front of the men, including Xun. "We have right on our side! The gods are on our side! We shall not lose!" I raise my sword, the men doing the same with their weapons, even doing a little cheer. I looked at the enemy, seeing that the unit was, entirely, horsemen. "Spears, front with a spear wall, Archers behind, firing at will"

The soldiers moved accordingly, Xun standing next to me, smiling. I could tell he was glad I did that speech, but something told me a speech wasn't going to be enough. We needed to keep our spirits high if we were going to beat the enemy back. Why did my second battle have to be so important?

I stood behind the first spear line, keeping my sword ready. I looked into the distance and saw Half of the enemy troops, including Zhang Liao, dismount. The other half charged us, hoping to get some kind of advantage; the archers fired their first round over our heads with an amazing volley. Annoyingly all the shots missed…but I wasn't actually bothered.

About three quarters of the horsemen, which was roughly half of our unit, hit the 'wall' of spears, falling off as they hit the points. I swung my sword around, using the flames to do a bit more damage, to some of the enemy that got through. I saw Xun out of my eye corner using his blades as if they were just extensions of his arms, sometimes making fireballs come out of his swords which exploded, oddly not injuring our own side.

The archers got out a sword each, stopping firing and walking into the melee. I kept on swinging my blade around, feeling blood splash on my face and in other areas which I won't mention out of courtesy. I had floored about five when I noticed that the general's ranks had also met us.

"On your back!" I heard Xun shout, I turned round, seeing one of the enemy getting ready to stab me in the back. I dodged to he left, slamming my sword down as I finished in order to burn him.

"Thanks" I told Xun, walking over to him, slashing at three more enemy soldiers. I held the blade in one hand (That's how light Xing had made it). One of the enemies tried to slash me, which I blocked and countered, starting by kicking him in the crotch and slashing him in the chest. Block splattering across my leg.

"So, we shouldn't have to hold these off for long" he told me, slashing at two enemy soldiers, I could see blood splatter along his arm. "I just hope Morale holds"

I looked round, seeing soldiers dying left right and centre. There had to be a better way to end this without all of this bloodshed, a way to get the enemy to retreat. I slashed at two more, defending myself from their attacks.

I saw Zhang Liao, spinning his pole arm around, killing several of our soldiers every time. His blue armour started turning crimson, and that was when I decided enough was enough here. This was more bloodshed then Jing…either that or I was more sensitive to it.

"Xun" I start, my voice seems a bit…darker then before. He looks at me, worried, as if I was about to do or say something stupid. "I'm going to kill that Liao"

"Don't do it Lord Fu" he told me, slashing round me to hit an enemy. "He's too strong for you to handle alone"

"Well, that just makes this more of a challenge and better for us when we win" I replied, smiling and spinning the sword in my hand.

I don't know what came over me, but I just saw red, the battlefield quieted around me. I ran towards Zhang Liao, thinking of how to beat him. He swung his pole arm at more of the soldiers, killing them without giving them a chance.

"Zhang Liao!" I shouted, holding my sword in both of my hands. He looked at me, surprised I would charge him. He swung his Pole arm low, which I jumped and tried to counter, swinging my sword down upon him.

"Nice try" he spoke, raising his weapon above him to block me. I heard the steel slam together, followed by a shockwave…were we really that strong?

I pushed off him, landing on the ground a few feet away from him, sliding in the ground as I did. I put my sword in the ground to stop me sliding, adrenaline flowing through me. He span his weapon above him, sliding along the ground towards me. I ducked under it, attempting to slash at his legs. He jumped, doing what I had done a few seconds a go.

"Try harder next time" I taunted, raising my sword above me, blocking him, I felt my feet sink into the ground a small bit, but not much. I gritted my teeth, hoping to push him off. "For Wu!" I shouted, making flames dance along my sword again. He pushed off as he saw this, hoping not to get burnt, doing a back flip.

He slid back, holding his weapon in the ground to keep from sliding. I looked at his face, seeing him smiling.

"This is your path then warrior" he spoke, getting his weapon out of the ground, spinning it round and finishing with it behind his back. "What is your name?"

"My name is Fu Xi" I told him, getting my sword into a good stance. "But names don't mean much to the dead"

I charged him again, slashing at him when I got close enough. He blocked and span round, slashing at my side. I tried to jump out of the way, but was still cut by the blade. I grabbed my side, feeling the blood ooze slowly out. He kept on going, slashing at me again. I raised my blade in time to block.

"Your right, names don't mean much to the dead" he taunted, kicking my arm in an attempt to get me to drop my sword.

"Not that easy" I replied, taking one hand off my sword to grab his spear, I moved the blade away, moving his weapon out of the way of me. "I won't die here"

I slammed my blade into the ground, making flames shoot around me. Part of the flames hit Zhang Liao, his cape aflame, but he was still alive, if injured. I was worn out, that small bit of combat was very tiring, but then again, he was a strong general.

The soldiers on our side shouted, fighting back even stronger then before. Xun was beside them, cutting down more then his fair share of soldiers. Me and Zhang Liao were down on the ground, recovering our strength. He had burn marks evident on him. I had a cut in my side.

I got up first, looking at the soldiers, thinking that it would be good to help them, and then I looked back at Zhang Liao, the thought of killing him surging to the front of my mind. I walked over to him, sword in hand.

"Go Ahead" he spoke, lowering his head in shame. "Do it" I held my sword up above me, getting ready to strike the blow that would finish him…

SHRING!! THUMP!!

I brought my sword down, seeing Xun look at me in surprise. Zhang Liao looked up at me, seeing I had missed him, my blade embedded nearby in the ground. In a moment of sanity, I chose to miss him.

"What…" Zhang Liao started, looking at me. I pulled my blade out, breathing heavily.

"If you want to live, then I suggest you run" I told him, putting my sword over my shoulder and running to join our soldiers. I ran by Xun who was watching Zhang Liao.

I swung my sword at three enemy soldiers, dropping them instantly. I held my blade, getting ready to dodge and counter. That was when I saw Zhang run by me, his arm in the air.

"Soldiers, retreat!" he shouted, stopping to make sure his men got the word. "We must pull back and live to fight another day!"

All the enemy soldiers looked at him, fear in their eyes. I was glad I didn't have to fight anymore of them. They looked back at each other, thinking of running.

Well, I say they were thinking of running, but all of them started running at the same time away from us. I put my sword into the ground, thankful that I could rest after the battle. I looked at Zhang Liao, seeing him follow his men, making sure that they were safe. I had to respect him for that.

"What exactly happened there?" Xun asked me. I looked at him, wondering what he meant. "Just now with the fight"

"Oh, that" I answered, sitting down on the ground. "I don't know why, but I just couldn't watch those soldiers die" I looked up, thinking back and trying to recall what set me off. "I just thought there had to be a better way, a way so that we didn't have to kill our own countrymen. Then I saw him killing loads of our men and I just lost it" I got up, looking at Xun.

"Well, that's one hell of an arm you have there" he replied, almost too calm. "I wonder what it could do in the name for Wu"

"Look, I'll be honest, I don't give a shit what happens to me, so long as Nu is safe" I flexed my arm, hoping to get the stiff feeling out of it. "Now how much longer do we have to wait until Zhuge Liang is done?"

You know the phrase 'speak of the devil', well as I finished that sentence I saw a flag in the distance turn the other way. It used to be blowing towards the Wu fleet but now it was pointing towards the enemy fleet…meaning that if the ships were set aflame, the flames would spread like wildfire.

I raised my hand in pride as I saw it, the troops following my example. We had hope that we might win this battle, and we knew the enemy didn't know of our plan…all that was left to do was set the ships aflame.

A messenger ran over to us bowing before me and Xun. We stood in front of him, hoping to hear his new orders.

"Lord Sun Quan wants Fu Xi to move north alone to reinforce Lord Pang Tong's retreat" he told us. We looked at each other, confused by the order. Why not send the whole unit?

He ran off after saying the order, moving back to his old position. Zhuge Liang walked out of his Shrine, my sword and sheath in hand. I pulled my sword out and strapped it to my back then running over to him with Xun.

"New orders?" The strategist asked, passing me my equipment.

"I'm to move north and reinforce Pang Tong's retreat" I told him, strapping the scabbard to my side.

"It's got to be a trap" Xun told us. We both looked at him, I was surprised and Zhuge wasn't.

"That would make sense" Zhuge replied, looking at me. "Lord Fu Xi, I suggest you be careful on your Order"

"I always am" I replied, smiling. "Besides, how bad can it be?"

"Lord Cao Cao is a cunning man" Xun told me, now moving his hands to explain. "If you moved north and it was a trapped, you could be captured…or worse"

I gulped as he said 'or worse', thinking that I didn't want to die yet. But then, if Pang Tong was retreating, then I couldn't exactly leave him to die.

"Well, either way, I'm heading out" I told them, walking away from the shrine. "I can't leave a good man to die, even if it does turn out to be a trap" I heard Xun catch up to me and I could guess what he was going to say.

"Lord Fu Xi, please, don't go" he begged. I wish I didn't have to go, but this young boy…well, about my age, didn't know much about me.

"Sorry, Xun, I have to" I kept on walking, seeing him stop. "Besides, I'll be back; I have a promise to keep to someone"

He stopped after that, and I started running, hoping to reach Pang Tong in time. I looked into the distance, seeing multiple lights go along the river. I guessed that was how they intended to spread the flames. I ignored it, still heading north from the shrine.

About an hour later, the flames had taken hold and MASSIVE flames could be seen in the distance. I was gladdened by that, and also hoping that Sarah and Shinra were ok over there. After about two more minutes of running, I found someone, dressed totally in green with only his eyes visible, he held a staff in his right hand. I walked over to him, hoping it was the guy I was meant to reinforce.

"Excuse me" I started, getting closer to him. "Are you lord Pang Tong?" He remained silent and really nothing happened…well, until I reached out to him.

"Fool!" Someone shouted. The guy vanished in a cloud of dust. I covered my eyes to avoid being blinded by it, but someone came up behind me and hit me over the back of the head.

I fell to the ground, steadily losing consciousness. I kept my eyes open, looking at the 'shadows' move in front of me, hearing voices.

"What shall we do with him, Lord Sima Yi?" a soldier asked. He held his spear on the ground, getting closer to look at me.

"Take him back to the camp" a calm, cold voice spoke. I could see someone with a fan but couldn't make out anything else. "We may have lost this battle, but I'm sure Wu will miss losing this officer more"

That was when I blacked out, but one word passed through my lips before I did.

"Sorry…"

_I had to think it. Why couldn't I have thought of something good like 'we win with no casualties'? I was just thinking where did all of that strength come from, and would Sarah and Shinra come and help me. Or would we have yet another mysterious ally?_

* * *

Sorry I haven't updated in so long, I've had tons to do with coursework and school and possible career options. I'm doing this as much as I can but writer's block is slowing me down…heck, I only got inspiration for this from staying up late trying to work on this.

Now a little background here, the battle of Chi Bi as we call it is know as the battle of red cliffs in China, known as such because the cliffs of the Chang Jiang River were red for a few months after the battle. Zhou Yu and Huang Gai implemented the 'desperation plan', where an officer, I.e. Huang Gai, would be beaten up enough to make him look harmless, and then he would feign a defection to get into the ranks. If you've played the games, you know what happened next, the fire attack on Wei's fleet, aided by the Linked ship plan and the Miracle winds. Sima Yi and Lu Xun were present apparently, they just weren't officers of any stature.


	15. More of us?

I'm back on

Chapter 14: More of us?

_I should have listened to Xun, I should have stayed back. I should have forgotten about the order…but, me being me, I couldn't risk leaving him to die. When I got knocked out, I just thought I had failed Wu. Failed Quan…Failed Sarah. But then there was the strangest consolidation…_

Where…where am I? Why can't I open my eyes? Why can't I move my arm? What's this thing on it? Why is it on my legs as well? What is the warm liquid that is running down my face?

"Is this the officer who defeated Zhang Liao, Sima Yi?" A bold, male voice asked.

"Yes my lord" the cold voice from before answered.

"Very well, you may leave"

"Thank you my lord"

I open my eyes, finding that it was just because I was recovering from the attack. I found that I was looking down at a wooden floor. I looked at my body, seeing restraints all over. I was restrained to a wall.

"Well, looks like the warrior is awake" I heard the bold voice say, I looked towards it and saw a middle aged man wearing royal blue clothes. He had a goatee and moustache and his hair had a pin of some sort in it. I don't know why, but I had a feeling I knew who it was. I saw that he had a golden sheath on him, along with a gold winged hilt.

"Cao Cao I presume" I spoke, my voice sounded weaker, I guess that's what I get for being knocked out. I felt like a truck hit me…make that a shield or maybe a club.

"Yes, you are Fu Xi, correct?" he asked me, I didn't really see the point in lying now.

"Of course"

"You are a new officer of Wu, correct?"

"True"

"Would you like to join me?"

"What is this, 20 questions?" I asked back, he looked surprised as I said this. I could see why. "To answer your question, I wouldn't betray Wu"

"Really"

"That's my answer"

He walked around the room…or was it a tent, I didn't really know…neither did I care really. I looked at the ground, seeing a small puddle of blood. I guessed it was mine and that was what was running down my face. I looked round the room, trying to find my equipment.

"Don't bother with trying to find your swords" Cao Cao told me, I looked at him, wondering what he meant. "My soldiers took all your weapons off you when you were brought here" he got the long sword from it hilt, holding it near me. "Which means, even if you try and escape, you won't get far"

I groaned as he said this, even if I did manage to somehow get out of the restraints, I would be stuck as I couldn't really fight them off. He had effectively won.

"Just because you have me captured doesn't mean you have me beat" I told him…yes, I was pulling at straws.

"Oh really, your friends at Wu aren't going to save you this time" he bragged, holding the sword near my throat. "The city of Xu Chang is too defended for that to happen"

"Oh, so that's where we are" I guessed that…well he shouldn't really have said that if he didn't want me to know. "I wouldn't be surprised that help is on the way"

He laughed a bit at me, putting the sword back into its sheath. He turned his back and left the room, no one coming in to check on me or my injury. It's quite an odd feeling, knowing that there might be no one to save you. When death could be what happens next.

I don't know how long went by. I lost all sense of time when I got knocked out. My injury, most likely a cut of some kind, was still bleeding, giving me the impression I would have a nice scar on my face. I tried to pull my arms free, finding that the restraints were secured tightly. I even tried that flame trick, only succeeding in heating myself up.

I had plenty of time to think while I was in that position. I thought about the guys back in Wu, would they be trying to save me? I thought about Lui Bei's militia, thinking that they might do something, given the fact they were strong enough to. But the thing that stuck in my mind the most was the fact that I might not get to go home.

'Why did it have to be me?' I thought to myself. 'Why couldn't it be someone else, someone braver and stronger then me?' I looked up, seeing a window. The moon was up, full. 'Why was I one of the 'chosen'?'

I kept an eye on the moon, my only sense of how long had passed. One of the enemy soldiers walked in, keeping an eye on me. She wore plate mail armour, like one of the enemy generals would wear except it was more…unique. It had a falcon on the chest with a tattoo on the back of her left hand. She had long blonde hair, tied back into a ponytail.

"You're that one who sings those weird songs are you not?" she asked me. Her voice was pure and innocent.

"Yeah, but I don't know why you know" I replied, blood still dripping off me. She got a bandage of some sort, tying it round my head, covering the cut and my right eye; I looked into her eyes, seeing that they were green…and innocent.

"That should cover the blood" she told me, looking at me intently. "I'm Ma Wengi by the way"

"I'm Fu Xi" I told her…for some reason, I felt ok around her. "If I may ask, where do you stand in this war?"

"That's fair to ask" she replied, leaving the room and bringing in pair of combat claws. "I'm training under Lord Zhang He in the use of these, and I believe that lord Fei Guan is learning how to use a double headed halberd"

"Ok, too much information too fast, narrow it down please"

"Oh, sorry, I'm learning fighting skills from Zhang He and Fei Guan is learning how to use the double halberd"

"Ah, nice" I replied, it felt nice to be making small talk in this trying time. You wouldn't believe how much better it made me feel. "If I may, are you…from this country?"

She looked quite surprised as I said this, making me think that maybe she was. Either that or this Fei Guan was. I looked her in the eye, thinking that maybe she would give me answer soon.

"What do you mean?" she asked back. I could see in her eyes that she knew what I meant, but chose to play along any way.

"I know some people who claim to be from outside China" I told her, half lying seeing as though I fitted into that group. "I thought maybe you would be among them, as I'm trying to help them get home"

"You can do that?" she asked me, I nodded, bluffing. "How?"

"We need to unite the land under one banner" I replied, heck, I was just making that up as I think Wu needed more officers. "Once the land is united, we'll be sent back"

She walked around the room after I said this, contemplating what I had said. In my head it did make sense, but it just seemed far fetched… well, we're dragged out of our time/world into this place so a lot more could happen. She carefully scratched her arm with a claw.

"If I told you my real name, would you tell me yours?" she asked me, I was surprised at how sudden it was, seeing as though we might meet in the field in a few battles.

"Sure, I'm Craig" I told her, smiling. "Craig from England"

"My name is Melissa" she replied, also smiling. "I'm from America"

"And what about this 'Fei Guan'?"

As I said this, a tall man, wearing what looked like simple leather armour, coloured blue. It had a few symbols on it, Yin and Yang, a red dragon head, a golden cross and a silver tiger claw. He had short black hair which was slightly spiked…hang on; I never looked at my hair. He had the halberd in question with two red tassel things on it.

"Ma Wengi, we shouldn't be talking to captives" he told her, his voice was quite bold and strong.

"I'm sorry, Fei, but its just I've heard of this officer" she replied, looking at the guy. I didn't see much in him.

"Are you, by any chance, from another world or time?" I asked him, it was very sudden I'll admit, but I had to ask. He looked surprised by this.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"He's from England" Melissa replied, looking at him. "Shouldn't we trust him for this?"

"Good point" he crossed his arms, thinking about his answer. "My name's Derrick, I'm from America, like Melissa"

"Well, my name's Craig" I told him. "Melissa will fill you in on the details, but I think I know a way home"

We all talked for a bit, exchanging who got us here, which I found out was Zuo Chi again. They got involved at the battle of Xia Pi and were on someone called Lu Bu's side. They lost and went through the same thing I did, apart from the fact that they were almost instantly recruited without any kind of test.

"So, what you're telling us is that if the land is united, then we can go home" Derrick reiterated.

"Yes, we just have to choose the right lord to serve and hope he wins" I told him, I honestly hoped I was right.

"Well, I think we'll be staying with Cao Cao" Melissa told me, I was surprised at this as I thought they'd join Wu

"That's true" Derrick chipped in. "His dream is to unite the land and have people set up in roles judged by ability, not birth"

I was amazed at this; I thought this was a good dream…actually, what was Sun Quan's dream? Either way, I think that I'll stick with Quan for the long term; after all, I have got friends there.

"I guess I'll see you on the battle field then" I told them, smiling.

"That's if you escape" Melissa told me, walking away.

"Good luck with that" Derrick chipped in, following Melissa.

I'll be honest, what I said did make sense. If the war is over, then we don't have anything to do here, so we could go home.

_I know this is war, but I fail to see them as the enemy. But meeting them makes me think…could more be out there…more people from my time. But then again, I have bigger things to think about…like how I was going to get out of this place._

* * *

Derrick/Fei Guan's weapon is akin to Lu Bu's in DW6, just one instead of two Melissa/Ma Wengi is just a move set clone of Zhang He


	16. Escape

Chapter 15: Escape

_Seeing Melissa and Derrick did raise my hopes, maybe we could get home, I know I was bluffing on knowing a way home, but it did make sense. Now came the hard part…the long wait until the rescue._

I hung on the wall, still looking at the moon, I did wonder how long it would be until I'd either be killed or rescued. I thought about a few things, what I'd do when I got back, how I'd keep my skills sharp…how I'd get us all home.

Occasionally, a soldier would walk in, giving me food and water then walking back out. I did, for one moment, think of asking one of them to let me go, but I think I knew what the answer would be.

About 5 hours…well, what felt like 5 hours, later. I heard a commotion outside, seeing soldiers run by, fully equipped. One of them walked in, his face covered by the helmet.

"Are you Fu Xi?" he asked me, his voice sounded familiar.

"Who wants to know?" I asked back, I was too pissed to give a straight answer.

"A friend"

"Who!?"

He took the armour off, showing the figure of Shinra, he somehow wore the red leather armour under all that plate without being noticed. He had both of his swords on him. I smiled, grateful to see him.

"Shinra" I spoke.

"Well, who else would you expect?" he replied, getting a sword and working a restraint off. "Nu is alright, she's providing a distraction"

"Thank god" I told him, he got a restraint off on my arm, so I worked the others off me. "You got any spare weapons?"

"No, sorry"

"Oh well" I got the leg restraint off, moving on to my other leg. I had a question that needed answering. "Why did I recognise your voice when we first met?"

He kept an eye on the door, but I could see I had hit something. I got the leg restraint off, working on the last one on my other arm. He looked at me, smiling.

"I was wondering when you'd figure it out" he told me, holding his thumb up.

"Only reason I can see for remembering the voice is someone from my world" I got the restraint off, landing safely on the ground. "Or, more specifically, school" I walked over to him, checking the other passageway. "So how've you been Simon?"

"Took you long enough" he joked, punching me on the shoulder. "I've been doing well, serving Wu since I got here about three years before the battle of Xia Kou"

"I shoulda known" I replied, smiling. "Good to see you again anyway Simon"

We took the stealthy way, sneaking around the building…well; until we found my swords we'd do it this way. I was slightly hampered by the fact my left eye was covered over, but it wasn't too much. Simon and I moved around the place, using what he knew from getting in.

We did have a few close calls; we were nearly caught by Zhang Liao at one point, and then nearly fell foul of Cao Cao and his son, Cao Pi. Cao Pi literally fitted the role of 'prince'; he wore fine clothes and kept his hair neat. He kept a two bladed sword at his side.

After about 10 minutes of running, we came upon the enemy's armoury, filled to the brim with weapons, armour…and gold! I didn't bother with the gold; I just wanted to find my weapons. Simon gave me a. hand whilst putting some gold in his pockets, but then again, I hoped it was for Xing Hai, but I didn't really mind either way.

I found various weapons of different makes and designs. One handed cross bows, swords, axes, spears, naigatas, bows, halberds and so on. I went through the lot, trying to find my equipment.

After moving some suits of full plate around, I found my swords, in there sheathes. I was so glad to find them again I hugged them. I strapped them to me again, thankful to have the steel on my back and at my side again. I looked around again, finding quite a nice crossbow and taking it, along with a quiver of bolts. I strapped both to my belt, thinking that a fall for the enemy is an edge for us.

"Right, the enemy main force is stationed here" Simon told me, finishing up with the gold; I took a few bars and put them in a pocket. "For our sake, it's best if we sneak out of here"

"True, but we should link up with Sarah before we try to escape" I told him, kneeling just in front of the wall. "Just tell me one thing"

"What?"

"When you tortured me when we first met here…" I started, looking at him. "Did you know it was me?"

"I didn't know until I heard you and Sarah talking" he answered, looking quite upset. "If I did, I wouldn't have done that"

I looked at the ground, getting my long sword out; Simon did the same with his. I know he said its best if we go with stealth, but, to be honest, I wanted to bring the enemy out. That was when I had a brainwave.

"Where's the enemy supplies held?" I asked him, getting up and looking for a shield of some sort.

"Just outside the city" he answered, looking at me with a confused face. "In fact we pass it on the way out, why?"

"What do you say we ruin the enemy's morale?" he smiled as I said this, obviously getting my drift. "If we leave Cao Cao's army as it is, It'll be ready to attack us in, what, 3, 4 months" I grabbed a finely crafted steel shield, getting used to the weight in my off hand, my bad arm. "If we ruin their morale, then they will be immobilised for, at least, a year"

I walked over to Simon, getting used to my new equipment. I looked at his face and saw a smile. I guess I had made a good plan, all we needed was something to destroy them with…and that I could provide. We moved out, walking along the corridors.

We moved along empty wooden corridors, the sound of soldiers shouting locations and orders to each other. Eventually we found some enemies, a group of five armed with swords.

"Enemies!" the leader of the squad shouted, moving towards us. One of them left towards another exit, most likely to get reinforcements.

"Shinra, can you handle him?" I asked Simon.

"Easy, I'll even hunt for Nu. But can you handle these four?" Simon replied, running by the soldiers.

"Certainly" I got into a defensive stance, holding the shield in front of me and my sword behind.

They all did what I expected them to do, charging at me with swords held aloft. When they were within range I jumped backwards, watching with delight as three of them slashed at where I was before, the fourth kept on coming. I blocked him with my shield, wincing as my arm played up, then countered by stabbing him in the gut. Blood splashed onto me, giving me a warm feeling on my skin. He dropped to the ground dead.

The other three tried again, this time being more precise then before. I brought me shield up and blocked them, swinging at them as a counter. I missed two of them, hitting the third's arm, cutting it off. I think that was because of the fact I only had one eye at the moment. He fell back, clutching his missing appendage.

The other two slashed away at me, getting slight cuts on me every so often, but the majority I blocked. I did try to counter them using the sword as well as the shield, but the closest I got was a close scratch against the armour. I could see them both smiling, I think they knew I was getting worn out.

I held my sword up to block one of them, the blade getting knocked out of my hand and landing about 20 feet behind me, I blocked the other with my shield, feeling the blade hit it. The shield broke into many pieces (Ok, maybe it wasn't as good as I thought it was) and one of them kicked me down. I landed on the ground, hurting my back. I started to crawl backwards, hoping to put off my death or grab my sword. One of them raised his sword over his head, getting ready to deal the death blow. I covered my eyes, hoping not to see it.

SHRING! SHRING! THUMP! THUMP!

I opened my eyes, was I dead? I saw the soldiers who were threatening me dead on the ground, one was cut in half, and the other had several neat cuts in him. I looked up, seeing Derrick and Melissa from before, both turned away from me, blood on their weapons.

"What the…?" I started. They both turned around, looking at me.

"I think we both want to get you out of here" Melissa said, smiling. She cleaned some of the blood off her claw, then offering her hand to pick me up.

"Thanks" I told her, taking the offer and both of us pulling me up. I walked back to get my sword, holding it in my hand. "But why do you want to help?"

"You helped us find a way home, it's only fair we help you get out" Derrick replied, putting the halberd over his shoulder.

"Besides, we did need a bit more competition on the field" Melissa told me. I did begin to wonder if they had another reason, but I didn't go down that path.

"So where were you during the battle of Chi Bi?" I asked them, putting the long sword away and getting my great sword out.

"We were on the west bank, where we faced Zhao Yun along with two other officers" Melissa continued.

"So you met Simon and Sarah in battle"

"Who?" Derrick asked

"Their from my school, England" I put the sword into the wood, scratching my head. "In fact their my two best mates"

"Well, that's a coincidence" Melissa told me, walking round. "We're best friends as well"

"We both go to the same school" Derrick chipped in. I could see them both go red, which gave me the impression there was something…more, but I decided not to pry.

"Oh, so that's why you get along so well" I reiterated, smiling. "Good luck out here then"

"I hate to end this conversation" Melissa started, looking at Derrick. "But we have to go if we don't want to arouse suspicion"

"Good point" Derrick replied, looking at me. "We'll distract them, get your friends and get out of here. If we meet on the battlefield, then no mercy"

"Thank you" I told them.

They ran off down the corridor, Melissa winking at me before she left. I had a small epiphany there; all the people brought here were friends. Could that mean that at least two more are out there? I got my sword out of the ground then, following the hallway Simon had gone down hoping to catch up with him.

I found a doorway at the end of the corridor, thousands of Cao Cao's troops were running around, trying to capture Sarah and Simon, I kept low, making sure I was unseen. I heard some soldiers ask each other if they had found anyone. Another replied that 'Lord Fei Guan and Lady Ma Wengi had found someone' and they then ran off, heading towards the building I had just vacated.

I looked round, finding that I was in a massive 'ancient' city; I looked at the building I had just left, finding that it looked like an 'ancient' palace. I actually started worrying that I had been through a home owned by royalty. I looked around, seeing soldiers vacate the area.

"Well, seeing as though I have nothing better to do…" I started, stopping there. I looked at the entrance to the place, seeing that no one was there. I ran over to it, making sure that no one saw me. I put the sword away and got the cross bow out and loaded it.

_It's like Ancient China's answer to James Bond _I joked, smiling as I did so. I looked round the corner, keeping hidden while poking the 'gun' round. _The name's Xi, Fu Xi _I joked again, smiling a bit more. I ran into the city, hoping to find where Sarah and Simon had gone.

The city, civilian wise, was quiet, people were asleep in their homes (Or so I was led to believe, seeing as though no one moved) I ran through the streets, my energy leaving me after so long without food or sleep (No, unconsciousness doesn't count as sleep, if anything it wears you out even more).

Every so often, I heard someone yell that they had found someone, then someone else yelling that they should keep looking. I stumbled a bit as I walked down the street, feeling my legs weaken every second. I must have been in a worse state then I thought…well, I know I looked bad with this bandage over my eye but I didn't have that many physical wounds.

I heard something from around the corner of a building, practically on a blind bit of road. I hugged the wall, drawing my long sword as silently as possible. I heard two sets of footsteps go along the road, moving slowly with purpose.

I saw a shadow come off the owner of the footsteps. It was two people; I didn't really bother with what they looked like, just getting ready to strike. I stood still, waiting for the pair to come into my range. I sped out, swinging my sword down at the first of the pair.

I was blocked by a bladed bow, holding the blade firm in position. I didn't look at who I had hit, I couldn't really be bothered.

"Craig!" I heard Sarah's voice speak; I looked down at who I had attempted to hit, finding the girl looking at me confused. I pulled the blade back, putting it away.

"Sarah, I thought you were…" I started, seeing Simon behind her. "Oh"

"She owes me, as do you" Simon told me, I had a feeling something had happened in the previous battle.

"Lord Sun Quan doesn't know we're here" Sarah told me, smiling. "We couldn't leave you here"

"Well, for now, let's get out of here before they catch up" I told them, hoping that we could get out of here without my bandage being brought up.

"Good point and I see someone helped you out with an injury" Simon told me.

"Don't ask, Catch up later, just where is this Supply Depot?" I asked him, quickly changing subject.

"Near Lui Bei's territory" Simon told me, running ahead of us. "Just follow me"

We ran through the city, occasionally they had to stop to let me keep up. I did occasionally look back and see some soldiers, resisting the urge to shoot them. After about five minutes, we broke out of the city. After another hour of running, near daybreak, we hit the supply depot, a place called Bo Wan Po. Because all the guards were busy in the city, we were free to do what we wanted here.

We walked in, finding the biggest stockpile of food this side of 2008. We walked round the massive area, finding that the whole food supply was set up in nice wooden containers. A good supply of wine was nearby, most likely used to give the soldiers something to drink.

"So what's the plan?" Simon told me, looking at the supply.

"Easy, set up the wine between the separate food containers" I told them, getting my crossbow loaded and looking around. "The wine is flammable, so if one bit is set aflame, any in contact will follow"

"So we coat them, you burn them" Sarah reiterated, I nodded as she said this, making sure she knew.

"Get to work and I'll get my energy together for this"

I'll be honest, the only reason I said 'I'll get my energy together' was so I could recover…and think about what to tell the pair about what happened. They set to work, breaking the wine out and pouring it all over the complex, making sure to get enough on to set them on fire when I fired a flaming bolt at them…I'll be honest, I didn't think I could do it.

"Ok then" Simon started, moving behind me. "We've placed enough to set this whole place aflame in a few seconds"

"All you have to do is set it ablaze" Sarah continued, doing the same as Simon.

"Are there any horses in here?" I asked Simon, looking at him.

"Yeah, about three" Simon started, running to go and fetch them. "I can see where you're going with this"

"Steal the enemy's horses and ride back into allied territory" I looked at him, thinking for a bit. "Once we get into allied Jing, we can ask Lui Bei to help us get back to Sun Quan"

He gave me a little salute, running off to get the horses in question. I stood there, waiting for Simon to return, Sarah along side me.

"So what exactly happened after the battle?" she asked me. I looked at her, thinking about my answer.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you" I answered, looking at her.

"Try me"

I sighed as she said this, knowing that I had to answer it. How should I put it?

"I got sent false orders. I responded, going to try and help and got captured by a Sima Yi" I started, going through the whole list. "I was knocked out and I believe I may have been cut at that time. Cao Cao tried to sway me but I out rightly refused"

And so I explained everything to her, about Derrick and Melissa, or Fei Guan and Ma Wengi, about my scar and bandage and about a way home, about the encounter with the pair in the corridor and my escape (And Bond joke). She listened to every word, and I think she understood better then I did.

We weren't the only ones here, there were others out there. This did light a new fire in my heart…Hope, hope for us getting back home, and hope for Wu, Hope for the land to be united with all of us around. Hope that there were more in our situation. Simon came back with three horses, one was crimson with golden…I believe its bridling, but either way it had golden armour. Simon was on this one, another was brown with bronze armour on, which Sarah mounted.

The third was jet black with black armour on, it was quite tall and I scratched its head before I mounted it. The saddles were quite fancy, but we would have to get the colours of them changed when we got back.

"Well, shall we get going then?" Sarah asked, I looked at her and nodded.

"Get going, I'll keep up" I told them, pointing the crossbow at one of the food stores and putting my energy into it. Simon and Sarah went ahead, getting out of the premises.

I fired a bolt, surprised when I found it was aflame when it flew. It hit one of the food stores, setting it alight in an instant. I put the crossbow away, starting the horse going out of the place.

You know in movies when there is an explosion and the hero only just gets out in time. It was one of those moments as I left the depot, a massive surge of heat followed by an explosion. I struggled to keep on the horse as the shock wave hit. I looked into the distance, seeing Simon and Sarah not too far away. I made the horse gallop up to them, slowing down when alongside.

"So together again" Simon commented, relaxing on his horse, somehow lying down on it. "You two still make a good couple you know"

"Shut up Simon" Both me and Sarah said at the same time. We both looked at each other and laughed a bit.

"Seriously though, which way?" Simon asked again, getting up slightly. "If we head south we should hit allied territory by the morning"

"I guess its south then" Sarah said, looking at me. "What do you think Craig?"

"South we go, besides, I've had just about enough of this bandage over my eye" I answered, holding my hand in front of it.

"Just take it off then"

"Do you want me to bleed to death?"

"No"

"Then I think I should keep this on until the doctor sees it" I crossed my arms after saying this. "Besides, it doesn't look that bad"

"It didn't until you covered it in blood" Simon moan.

"Still, adds to my image" I looked at the sky, thinking for a bit. "So, what do you think we'll be known as for this?"

"If it's any help, I'm already known as the Shadow of Wu" Simon told us, I looked at him, thinking that he wouldn't exactly be a stealth expert back home. "If I know the way these names work, Sarah, you'll be the angel of the battle field, and Craig, you'll be the demon of war"

"Angel!" Sarah shouted. I held my ear as she shouted this. "I'm no angel I'm more of a vampire"

"Well, I'll take demon any day" I told them, getting my legs ready. "Well, let's get going shall we? Going to be a long day the way things are going"

I made my horse gallop, Sarah and Simon doing the same and following behind. We were going 'home'.

_Simon explained a lot to us, he saved Sarah from a volley of arrows during the battle of Chi Bi, learned the Energy technique from Lord Sun Ce and became an adept Ninja just before the battle of Xia Kou. Apparently Zuo Chi was involved again in bringing him in. I had one thing in my mind from then on, thinking about Derrick and Melissa. I had to get us all home, safe and sound._

* * *

And this is my second chapter done on my week vacation. Sorry if it seems a bit…long winded


	17. aftermath of the escape

Chapter 16:

Aftermath of the escape

_I suppose we knew we were going to be in trouble for what we did. I got captured; Simon and Sarah rescued me without permission…yeah, we'd been in trouble, but at least we had something to counter it with, and besides, we wouldn't see Quan for a while_

We arrived in Jing, tired, worn out, hungry and aching. I was now, officially (Well, at least in Simon's eyes) looking like I'd been to hell and back with the bandage coated in blood. It was like watching paint dry with my right eye…well, crimson blood stick to a bandage and dry, but it's basically the same.

Somehow, we managed to avoid the patrols and border guards, passing by farmland and forests…to think all of this could be destroyed in an instant just because different people had different dreams.

After half a days riding, we came to a big stone wall with a gate set into it. Simon stood up on his horse, trying to see past the wall. We all stopped, thinking about what we were going to do when we got in.

"Its Shu territory" he told us, getting back into the saddle. "Once we are through the gate, we're safe and can go back to Wu"

"That's great" Sarah replied, looking at the wall. "So how do we get the guards attention?"

I rode slowly up to the gate, stopping just in front of it, Sarah and Simon just behind me. I looked up, thinking maybe one of the guards were around.

"Hello!" I shouted, hoping for some kind of a response. "Lord Fu Xi, Lady Nu Wa and Lord Shinra seek an audience with Lord Lui Bei!" I had heard that line so many times in the past when generals wanted to see Sun Quan, I just hoped I had gotten it right.

I looked up, seeing one of Lui Bei's generals walk up to the edge. He looked like Zhao Yun from before. I looked at Sarah and Simon, seeing them smile as they saw him.

"Lord Shinra! Lady Nu Wa! It's good to see you two again!" he shouts…yeah, It's Zhao Yun. He's got the armour, and the spear. Who else could it really be?

"Lord Zhao Yun!" Simon bellowed, waving.

"Zhao Yun, How've you been?!" Sarah yells, I think she was the happiest of all of us.

"I've been great; I'll let you guys in!" Zhao Yun told them, he disappeared for a bit, his footsteps apparent as he ran down and opened the stone gates.

We rode in, looking round the small town. Zhao Yun stood by and watched us. I dismounted the horse and looked at him. I owed him so much for Chi Bi, but that would have to wait, I had more urgent things to do.

"Zhao Yun, where is the nearest doctor?" I asked him. He looked at my bandage and guessed what I needed him for.

"If you go down this street, there's one on the corner, either that or Pang Tong knows a few tricks" he explains.

"Thanks, and can you get my horse ready to ride back to Wu for me?"

"Certainly"

I walked off after that, hoping to find this doctor. Sarah and Simon stayed back, talking to the warrior. The streets seemed oddly deserted as I walked through them. I thought that maybe they had been dragged out due to the war, or farming or any other number of jobs.

I found a building, which was quite small, with a sign marked with the Chinese symbol for 'doctors' I walked in, thinking that, maybe, I'd see some kind of shadow of what our doctors practises looked like. Shame really, all I saw was three chairs, a table and one of those weird chiropractic beds. No one was inside.

"Hello" I said, still looking round. "Is any body home?"

"Yes, Yes, I'm here" I hear an old man say from behind me. I turned round and saw the old man in question. He was hunched over and grey haired and everything, only thing different about him was his eyes, they should a youthful man.

"Sorry" I told him, moving out of his way; he walked in, me following.

"Don't worry, now what can I do for you?" he sat on one of the chairs, me sitting opposite.

"I think it's obvious" I answered, taking off my bandage, the blood had stopped flowing, but I felt a small trickle. "How bad is it?"

He stood up, laughing as he walked over to me. He put his hands on my head, examining the wound. He laughed a bit more, taking his hands off me and getting a cup of brown liquid from nowhere.

"Drink and You'll feel better" he told me. I took the cup off him, seeing some steam come off it. Bottoms up I suppose. I drank the whole thing in one go, instantly regretting it as I burnt of mouth. Amazingly I did feel better.

"My god, what is this stuff?" I ask him, smiling.

"What, you've never had herbal tea?" he asked me, laughing a bit more. He took the cup off me, still laughing. "That wound is nothing serious; it'll leave a scar across your face but nothing too serious"

I stood up, thinking about what he had said. I had a good mark of war and I was sure it would give some kind of respect.

"Thank you wise man" I told him, doing that hand thing and bowing. "May I ask your name?"

"Certainly, young man, It's Hua Tuo" he told me, searching through his inventory (Which I noticed was hidden in the wall). He pulled out a strange mirror like object, holding it in front of me. I looked at it, seeing my face. I had a scar running from just above my right eye, running along side it and cutting across my nose to end just under my left eye. It didn't look too deep, just deep enough to leave a lasting mark. What really drew my attention was my black spiky hair.

"Thank you, wise Hua Tuo" I said, standing up and leaving the place, I could hear him say 'anytime, young man' as I was leaving. I walked round the town, thinking about going ahead back to Wu and seeing Simon and Sarah back at the palace. I wasn't in the right state for that. Knackered, hungry and in a lot of pain.

"I guess I'll stay here for a bit" I said to myself, walking back to Sarah and Simon. They were still talking to Zhao Yun about what had happened.

"…So Fu set fire to the place and we made our way here" Sarah finished, explaining to Zhao Yun.

"I see, so your responsible for pushing the enemy forces back" Zhao Yun replied, smiling.

"What?" I spoke. All three of them looked at me.

"Ah, lord Fu Xi, I am glad to see you safe" Zhao Yun told me, still smiling.

"Great, but what did you mean?"

"We were attacked here in Jing after the battle. Cao Cao wanted one last desperate attack to try and secure the south" he started, looking up at the sky. "They were about to win until they received reports of insurgents in the capitol trying to escape, then hearing about their supplies being burnt"

"That was definitely us" I told him, smiling. "I think we gave him something to think about"

"Well, you're the first few to enter and escape right under Cao Cao's nose" Zhao Yun told me. I think we all felt extremely proud at this mention, breaking the record. "No one has ever managed to break into Bo Wan Po either"

"But Lord Zhao Yun, I heard of your army breaking into Bo Wan Po with Zhuge Liang's expert tactics" Simon started. Everyone looked at him. "In fact I've heard about your army doing things many thought impossible"

"I've heard the same, like Chang Ban Po" Sarah concurred. I didn't really have anything to help.

"I know, but to break the 'Hero of Chaos'' lines after what we did is almost impossible" he told us. I stopped listening after this point, thinking he was going way too far.

"Zhao Yun, I need a place to sleep, a lot of food and the horse ready for tomorrow" I interrupted him mid sentence.

"Well, this house is free" he told me, everyone looked annoyed that I had interrupted him. "You can use it for now, but I'm not sure how long it would be until you get your food, as for your horse, that will be done"

"Thanks, now if you guys don't mind, I'm off" I told them, walking into the house.

"See ya later Fu" Simon said, moving away.

"So long" Sarah echoed.

It felt weird to be going to sleep at what felt like midday. I never really went to bed until around 10:00 PM, and then that was on school days. I took my weapons off, putting them in a corner of the small room. I managed to work my way out of the armour, feeling the metal plates somewhat unhinge to let me out. I barely got my leggings off before falling down onto the bed and falling asleep.

_I'll tell you honestly, I think Zhao Yun went a bit too far in telling us what the achievement was. It wasn't that hard and by god it wasn't much. On the way to Jing, we didn't see any sign of battle, no bodies, no foot prints, no weapons._

_I wouldn't be surprised he was lying to make us feel better after going through all of that_


	18. two shocks

Chapter 17: Two shocks

_She never told me what she had planed, neither did Simon. I guess this is where things started to go wrong. But then again, I guess the other incident didn't help_

I woke up early the next morning and headed back to Wu territory, hoping to meet Quan before he got too worried about our safety. I knew that Simon and Sarah wouldn't be too far behind…although, I guess I did set off a bit too early for them, but then again we should have been used to it…oh crap, I forget to tell her happy birthday…but then again, had forgotten mine in the rush of war.

I lay on the back of the horse, my swords strapped to its sides. The saddle had been changed to a red and black one instead of its old blue…more fitting for me and Wu. I looked around the countryside, seeing people wave as I rode by. I waved back, hoping to keep up appearances.

I looked up, looking into the blue sky. Not a cloud to be seen, good days. I did think about things like 'when would we get home?' and 'where there more of us from a different time here?' But then again, I didn't really want to know, I had to think of the here and now.

I heard footsteps nearby, followed by a sword being drawn. I grabbed my long sword and moved it to block, opening my eyes. Somehow I felt the sword hit another blade and saw a bandit with an axe, holding it firm.

"Can't I get a day off?" I moaned, pushing him back and jumping off my horse. The bandit held his black axe towards me, intent on getting what he could from me.

"Don't even think of fighting off a member of Kong's bandits" he told me, swinging his axe low. I blocked with my long sword, putting my feet on his axe and keeping it down.

Easy. I swung my blade at him, hitting him square in the chest. Blood sprayed on me as the cut sprayed out on my arm. He fell to the ground, dead. I put my blade into its sheath, looking round. There was a single house here, with the bandits all around. I got on my horse…Hell dancer…yeah, that's what I'll name him, seeing as though I'm seen as a demon, but back to the subject, drawing my great sword and riding over to them.

"Open up!" One of the bandits shouted, swinging his axe at the wooden door. "We want your woman and money" two more bandits joined in, breaking the door. I looked at their numbers, counting 10 in all…one looked tougher then the rest, but not by much.

"In we go boys!" the tougher one shouted, raising his axe. He led the way into the house.

"I think not!" I shouted, riding near one of them and hitting him in the head…painful death, gruesome.

I kept my horse going, occasionally swinging my blade down to try to hit a bandit. 3 had taken the smart road, stepping into the house so I couldn't hit them. The other…now 6, were outside, occasionally blocking my swings with what they had. I grabbed my other sword out of its sheath and my cross bow and bolts. I did one last run before jumping off the horse, slamming my blade down and burning one in the fiery embers. I think he was dead…hope he was.

The others looked at me, wondering what just happened. I used the opportunity to swing at one of them, cleaving his chest. I held my blades in a defensive stance, holding the great sword lower to accommodate the weight.

"If you want them, then you'll have to beat me first" I told them, putting the great sword on my back and standing in an, oddly, relaxed stance. The bandits charged me, swinging their weapons downwards. "Too easy" I told them, sidestepping and watching them embed in the ground.

I think only two were smart enough not to fall for that. I swung my blade at the dimwits' heads, cutting them off cleanly. Blood poured out of them, staining the ground deep crimson. They fell on the ground on top of each other. (Their bodies, not their heads) I held my blade firm, getting into a serious stance which I think the other two deserved.

They both looked at each other and nodded. Dropping their axes and running away. While I would pursue normally, I thought it was best to let them go. They wouldn't be doing that again any time soon. I think the only reason I hadn't thrown up yet was because I was working on adrenaline which was countering the feeling of sickness.

I put my sword in its sheath, quickly loading my crossbow and getting two extra bolts ready. I looked into the house, seeing the three bandits looking at the entrance, waiting for me to get in. I had the element of surprise, and I aimed to use it.

I held my crossbow ready, getting my aim right so that when I entered, I could just shoot and hit one. I breathed for a bit, prepping myself for the fight, getting a bit more resolve that my shot would hit its mark.

I jumped in, aiming at the first bandit. I fired a bolt, watching it fly straight into the guy's eye…that had to hurt. He fell to the ground dead whilst I loaded another round and shot the second, hitting him in the forehead.

"I suggest you hold your fire" the leader spoke; I loaded another round, aiming towards him. He had taken the coward's way, taking the woman hostage. He held the axe at her throat, terror evident in her eyes. "You don't want to kill this poor woman now do you?"

I kept my aim steady, looking him in the eye, righteous fury burning within my veins. I had never wanted to shoot someone this much before in my life…then again, I never really had the chance. If I fired, he could put her in the way and I kill an innocent, if I don't, he could kill me.

"What do you want?" I asked him, keeping my crossbow steady.

"I want my money" he replied, looking round and taking a few pieces of gold.

"Is that all?"

"No, I want this girl, and I want my freedom" he moved the girl to his other side, licking her neck. "I'm sure you can allow that"

"No one takes an innocent hostage and lives to tell about it" I reply, moving my aim a bit.

"Well, I guess I may as well kill her" he continues, moving her again.

"Well, if that's the case, then I'm sure you won't be needed over 3000 gold then" I answered, lowering my aim and pulling a gold bar out of my pocket. I could see from the bandits he wanted it…he needed it.

"Gold" he said, loosening his grip on the woman and reaching out for the gold. "I'll trade yer"

"Let her go" I told him, thinking of something dishonourable.

"Very well, just give me the gold"

He did the dumbest thing in his whole life. He let the girl go, who ran behind me. I put the gold away, firing the crossbow quickly at his chest. He fell to the ground; I left the home without letting the girl thank me. Riding off towards Wu once again.

After about 5 hours ride, I got to the palace, seeing the Wu guard troop on duty was uplifting. I stopped in the stables, getting my stuff off and walking towards the throne room, hoping to see Quan again.

The palace hadn't changed much, people ran here and there as they prepared the victory feast. I ignored everyone, hoping I didn't run into any officers along the way. Sun Quan's throne room was wide open, and I could see the officers gathered inside, listening to him talk about how the battle went.

"…While it was a long and gruelling battle, we have shown Cao Cao what our army can do" he told the officers, I stood outside, listening. "We lost some good soldiers, but we have made sure that he won't be mobile anytime soon" he walked around the room, everyone bowing as he went by them.

"Some of you would know Fu Xi as a great soldier, always willing to do his duty. Others an odd one who knew nothing of the land he lived in. I hope that we'll remember him as an ally…and a friend" he finished, walking back onto the throne.

"I hope so to" I said, walking into the room. Everyone turned and smiled as they saw me, thankful that I had survived. I walked in front of Quan, my armour chinking every few steps. I bowed to the leader of Wu.

"Fu Xi? When did you return?" he asked me, smiling.

"Just now, Shinra and Nu Wa are in Jing, sorting things out with Lui Bei" I lied…well, half lied, they were in Jing…"they broke me out of Xu Chang last night and we burned the enemies supplies at Bo Wan Po"

Everyone cheered as I said this, I could tell why. Bo Wan Po was the biggest supply depot available to Cao Cao (according to Simon). I was grateful to be back, smiling as I looked round the guys.

"Lord Fu Xi" Quan started, everyone went silent and looked at him, including me. "I have a letter from Nu Wa for you" he pulled out a scroll and passed it to me. I held it in my hands, unrolling it slowly.

_Dear Fu Xi/ Craig_

_I hope you got back to Wu ok; Me and Simon are having fun talking in Jing, especially with the hot springs._

_Listen…or rather, read. Me and Simon are going to stay with Bei for a bit, you know, see what his dream is and find more of 'us', I wouldn't be surprised Xi Liang has at least one, as it remains under lord Ma Chao's control._

_So for now, we're splitting up, have fun with Wu and keep in touch._

_Nu Wa_

_Sarah_

I rolled the scroll up after this, half of me not taking it in. the other half taking in too much. I had hoped to keep Sarah safe, but now I was alone in this world, at least until we met up again and went home.

"If you need me my lord, I'll be in my room" I told him, walking out and going to my room.

_I'll admit, I had the wrong reaction there, I should have been happy that we were going to try and find more. But I couldn't shake that feeling of dread, that ominous feeling of 'something bad's going to happen'. For once I hoped I was wrong._

* * *

Advert: I just thought I'd put this in. If you've read the summary, you'll know this is inspired by Lorze the brooks' story 'the Warrior of Art' it is a good read so if you ever get bored waiting for an update, check it out.

And Lorze, I will apologise **at the start of the chapter** if I've spelt your name wrong


	19. Friendship

Chapter 18: Friendship

_I think I took Sarah and Simon's leaving worse then I should have done. They were only going to help Lui Bei, they weren't leaving Wu for good. I was sure they would keep each other safe…but who had my back?_

I put my weapons in my room, looking across and hoping to see Sarah walk out of hers. While she wasn't dead, I already missed her. I went to the mess hall, grabbed some food and walked over to the training ground, hoping to get some practise in and forget this.

I really wish I had chosen a different place…just about everyone was in there, including Quan, Tai and Tong. I didn't want to see them at the moment, picking a wooden long sword off the inventory and finding a dummy on its own and starting to slash away.

I think everyone knew what I was feeling, I couldn't really tell. They all started to leave, Gan, Tong and Shang Xiang staying behind and continuing. I didn't mind, so long as they didn't get in my way. I went into overdrive, slashing away at the dummy and nearly breaking the Sword at one point.

I kicked at the dummy; slashing at the helmet and watching it spin. It slashed at its arms next…well, I say arms, but I mean stumps. The armour on them fell off like it was nothing. The lower areas…well, its best if I don't tell you as a matter of decency.

_Quan doesn't trust you _something in my head told me. I swung my blade a bit too fast and broke it off the dummy's helmet. I dropped it on the ground, getting a big mace and using that instead. _What else would he think after being captured by the enemy?_

I swung the mace on the dummy's helmet, breaking it and moving on. _Why else would Sarah and Simon leave? _I swung at the Dummy's arm, breaking it off and managing to sweep through it. _Why else would no one want to be near you?_

_Shut up! _I told the voice, moving to put my weapon back. I looked at Gan, Tong and Shang Xiang, seeing them look at me, worried.

"I'm going for a wander" I told them, walking out and hoping to get into the black smith's today…seeing Xing Hai would be nice… someone who didn't know what had happened. I looked behind me to see Shang Xiang walking forward a bit to stop me, then Gan grabbing her arm and shaking his head.

I walked through the halls, soldiers and officers alike moving out of my way. I guess they were scared of me…well, if what Simon had told me was right, they had reason to fear me as a demon. But then again, I hadn't heard what the result of our attack was to our status.

I got my great sword and long sword out from the room, putting them into their sheaths and strapping them in safe, secure positions. I turned round, seeing Tong waiting for me, leaning on the frame.

"You ok, Fu?" he asked, spinning his nunchucks in his hands.

"Yeah, Why?" I asked back, looking at my old clothes and thinking about swapping.

"You don't seem…the same as before" he answered, looking serious.

"Would you be the same if you were captured by the enemy?"

"I guess not" he stopped spinning his weapon, looking at me again. "Cheer up though; Nu and Shinra will be back soon"

"I hope so" I looked at my crossbow, cleaning some dust off it. "So what's happening anyway?"

"Well, Sun Quan is sorting out a feast for us, and he is expected to do some sort of speech for the fallen warriors"

"Same as a ruler should do then" I told him, looking for a mirror and checking out my scar. "I don't think I'll attend"

"Why?" he asked, walking over to me.

"I'm not exactly the social type" I pulled my armour up a bit. "Not that big a social meeting anyway. I might just go and relax in the forest for a bit"

"So your one of those 'druids' then?" he asked, looking amazed. "You know, respect for nature and that lot"

"I feel at home in nature, yes" I answered him, walking over to the door. "But I'm no druid"

"Oh well, see ya round" he replied, running down the corridor.

I was honestly glad that conversation was over. I didn't exactly feeling in a talkative mood. I walked through the stronghold, heading over to the stables to get back on hell runner. It felt great to be back on him, my supply of gold along side me. I turned the horse around, getting him to trot out towards town.

The way to town was oddly quiet, as was the town itself. The people all seemed to either be at work or at home…great, less people to talk to. I rode over to Xing's place, getting off Hell dancer as I stopped. The woman was relaxing inside, some horse armour next to her. She was reading what I assumed was a news paper…well, more news scroll.

"Morning Xing" I told her, walking in. the black smith looked at me, smiling.

"Ah, 'Demon', what can I do for you?" she joked, putting the scroll down and walking over to me.

"Just a normal upgrade" I told her, passing her the gold bars. She smiled with avarice as she looked at them, grabbing them out of my hand and placing them on a table.

"Very well, and your horse armour is ready"

"I didn't order any…" I started about to say I hadn't ordered any.

"A young man came in earlier and brought your horse along, saying 'I need armour for this horse' and paying me for it. Apparently it's supposed to be black"

"Who was it?"

"Lu Xun, I think" she scratched her head, trying to remember. "Yeah, it was. Now where is this horse in question?"

"He's outside, Hell Dancer"

"Not exactly a male name now is it?"

"Well, what about Hell Runner?"

"Better, now, I'll be back in a minute"

She grabbed some black horse armour next to her. I guessed it would cover the upper side of the horse. Meaning face, head, back and backside. I did spy some leg armour for the horse, but I thought it might just be for show. Xing walked back in after a while, a brown mark on her overalls.

"I guess he knocked you over" I started, about to laugh.

"No, I had to strap on the armour and…its best if you don't know the rest" she replied…ok, so the brown stain is a…don't go there Craig.

"Unlucky" I told her, resisting the urge to laugh, hoping to give her some dignity.

"Well, either way, I should have the blades done by tomorrow" she explained, grabbing the blades and there sheathes, putting them into a corner. I heard footsteps at the door, turning and seeing Gan.

"Come on, lets talk" he told me, walking out of the place. I looked at Xing; she was back relaxing, the furnace now starting to come to life. Well, I had a few hours to kill, may as well find out what he wants. I walked out of the building, hoping to get some answers.

"So what's going on?" I asked him, thinking the answer would be different to Tong's.

"Same as Tong told you" he answered, smiling a bit. "We somehow starting talking to each other after we heard of your capture"

"Seems Cao Cao did more good then harm" I smiled a bit, honestly thinking that my capture had been worth it.

"So did you actually plan it?" he asked me, putting his hands behind his head. "The capture and all that"

"Nope, all thought up at the time" I answered, smiling a bit. "I got captured, Shina and Nu came to save me, and then we went from there"

"So you came up with the raid on Bo Wan Po after you escaped?"

"It wasn't much; everyone thought we were in the capital after all"

"True" the pirate looked up at the sky, something about him had changed since the day I had met him. "As far as I've heard, we've won a brief respite from attacks, so enjoy the peace while you can"

"That was the plan" I answered, somehow finding that we were back outside Xing's, Hell runner looking good in his new armour. "If you don't mind, I'm off"

"See yer later" he replied, walking through the town. I only just noticed he had his sword with him as I mounted the horse.

I rode through the country side again, seeing more people farming. They waved at me every so often; I waved back out of kindness, thinking it was polite. I looked behind me, seeing another horse following me. The rider wearing a black cloak all over him. Why couldn't they just leave me alone?

I made Hell runner gallop, heading towards the place me and Sarah had met Lui Bei's army. I looked at the rider, seeing him follow me at the same speed. I turned the horse into the woods, hoping that I could avoid having to talk to some one else……Like I said earlier, I wasn't in the most talkative mood.

I lost sight of the black rider in the woods, going for about 5 minutes before slowing him down, seeing the waterfall with the forest lake. I got off the horse, letting it drink at the waters. I got on the ground, laying with my eyes closed and deep in thought.

_They don't trust you _the voice told me…it couldn't just leave me alone could it? _Why do you think them three are following you? _I thought that it was because they cared. _Wrong, they think you'll betray them. _No they don't. _Well, why do you think Gan, Tong and Xing know about you in Xu Chang? _Sarah or Simon told them, or even a messenger.

_They don't, they don't trust you and so are trying to get rid of you _Shut up. _But then again, who wants a poor, little kid on their side. _Shut up! _You know I speak the truth _Just shut the hell up!

_Your nothing but a kid lost in another time._

"I Said Shut the Hell up!" I shouted, somehow getting up and looking into the distance. What the hell was I yelling at? I breathed deeply, my skin sweating like hell.

Had I been asleep…or was that just my head playing hell with me? Whatever it was, I didn't really have time to think about it as I heard some movement behind me. I turned round, seeing the wooden stick I had left behind last time, picking it up just in case.

"Who goes there?" I asked, holding the stick quite securely…I know it wouldn't exactly hold in a fight, but it was the only thing I had. I looked into the woods, seeing three black clothed figures walking between the trees.

I held the stick in a samurai style, 'hilt' held with both hands at my chest, 'blade' reaching head height. I looked at them a bit more…they looked slightly familiar…Gan, Shang Xiang and Tong maybe? I didn't really know, right now they were advancing on me.

I stood my ground, watching them intently. They weren't armed, apparently, but I couldn't be too certain. Suddenly, two of them ran at me, moving quite quickly. I tried to fight them off with the stick, but it broke on first contact. They grabbed my arms, pinning them behind my back.

The third jumped up, doing several flips in the air. The other two let go and moved away just as the third kicked me in the water behind me. I submerged into the chilly waters, emerging and taking a deep breath. The trio started laughing, giving each other high fives. That was when I realised who they were…

"Gan, Shang Xiang, Tong?" I asked, just to make sure. They pulled the black cloaks off revealing the trio of officers, smiling as they looked at me.

"Well, we had to do something" Shang Xiang explained, laughing a bit more.

"Am I really moping that much?" I asked them, swimming over to the side.

"Well, we wouldn't have bothered if you were your normal self" Tong reasoned, crossing his arms.

"Besides, we all needed a laugh" Gan continued, putting his hands behind his head.

"Well, could you help me out?" I asked the group, putting my hand up so they could pull me out.

"May as well do" Shang Xiang replied. All three of them agreed, grabbing my hand and starting to pull. I smiled as I got out, dripping wet. I walked behind them, a cheeky plan in my mind.

"And now for round two" I told them, quickly turning around towards them and pushing them in. a satisfying splash as they hit the waters surface.

After about 4 seconds, they resurfaced, all looking at me quite severely. I just looked at them and smiled, resisting the urge to laugh. They didn't actually look that different soaked, just hair downwards and darker. I started laughing a bit, gradually getting further up the scale until it was full blow laughter.

I felt a hand grab my leg, then another one grab my other leg, dragging me back into the water. When I surfaced I saw Gan and Tong around me, chuckling to each other and doing that friendship punch…they really had patched things up. I was glad.

"What was that for?" I asked them, looking between the two of them.

"Revenge" Tong answered, starting to climb out.

"Your not getting away that easy" Gan told him, grabbing his leg and dragging him back in.

I swam over to Shang Xiang, leaving the pair to their (Only just starting) water fight. She was floating in the middle of the…I suppose you'd call it a lake, but it's more a river…with a slow flow.

"So what exactly happened while I was gone?" I asked her, hoping for more information then what Gan and Tong had given me.

"Not much really, Ling and Gan have told you just about everything" she answer, looking at me and smiling…don't ask me why, but I think she was hiding something so I decided to dig deeper…well, swim as the case may be.

"And why do I get the feeling something else has happened?" I asked her, swimming over to the side and leaning against it. She sighed as I asked her this.

"Quan wants me to marry Lui Bei" she responded, moving next to me.

"And I guess you don't want to" I looked at her, seeing her nod. "What would Wu gain from it?"

"A potentially powerful ally and a life long alliance" she answered, looking at the water.

"And what do you gain?"

"A husband and a friend for brother"

"I'll ask that again" I spoke, looking at her, she looked back. "What do YOU gain?"

She looked shocked as I asked this, looking at the water again…was my scar really that bad? She breathed for a while, Gan and Tong laughing as they splashed each other.

"I guess I don't gain much" she told me, still looking at the ground. "I gain a husband and may have to leave Wu in order to keep the marriage going"

"So go against tradition" I told her…I'm guessing traditions here are the same as medieval Europe. She looked at me as I said this…I guess now's the time to use one of Sarah's lines "Listen to your heart, it'll tell you what to do" I looked over at the pair, seeing them grab a stick each and do a fight in the water. "Besides, by the way you sound; I'm guessing you have someone else in mind"

She blushed as I said this, turning back to the water. I guess I hit the nail on the head in this instance. Normally I was emotionally blunt, not 'sensing' what people were feeling, but I seem to be getting better. Gan and Tong had gotten into a deadlock, pushing each other into the water.

"I do have someone in mind" she spoke, looking into the distance. I listened intently, wondering who she was going to say.

"Fu, Shang Xiang" Tong interrupted, I was annoyed, seeing as though he had ruined a good moment. "Do you think we should head back? Lord Quan will be getting worried"

"He does have a point" Gan spoke, smiling. "I mean we have had a lot of fun" he got me in a head lock, doing a monkey scrub on me. "And I'm sure knuckle head here has gotten over losing his girlfriend"

Somehow, I managed to grab his legs, flipping him over my head and hearing him land in the water behind me. I looked behind me, seeing Gan rising, his face a scowl. Tong and Shang Xiang just laughed…I, on the other hand, ran as fast as I could, hoping to avoid a watery fate from Gan.

_I did feel better after that. I knew Sarah and Simon would be gone for a while, but they would be back…and until then, I had these three for company…and then the rest of Wu was there as well._

_Now I may as well show them how we do a winter with snow back home…just gotta wait long enough._

* * *

The last line ought to be enough to tell you my next chapter plan. I'm hoping to do a winter themed chapter with snowball fights and 'Christmas', or what the Chinese used to have…I think I'll just have it so they give each other presents in the depths of winter, and maybe a few letters from Sarah and Simon..

I'm going to ask you guy(s), the reader(s), to submit OCs in a PM (I can't stress PM enough) if you DO decide to send one in, I need a Bio of personality, looks, weapon, element (Lightning, Fire, Ice or Wind (Pang Tong is an example of wind, but you don't have to make the OC armed or look like him). and Kingdom. I'm hoping to get one for Wu first, then maybe some more all round, But i won't go above three per kingdom.

If you don't want to be known for sending it in, then just tell me in the PM. If he/she doesn't have a high rank, sorry, but they can't all be officers.


	20. winter's here

Chapter 19: Winter's here

_If there was anything that could lift my spirits, it was snow…I don't know why. It's freeing, it's slippery…it's FUN._

I went into my room, still avoiding Gan, I had managed to grab my horse and my weapons while I was on the way back. I found a letter, addresses to me, on the bed. I opened it, finding it was from Sarah…hopefully Simon had gotten involved as well, seeing as though he could use his spy skills.

_Dear you_

_Things have settled down now from our little escapade in Bo Wan Po. Zhao is keeping us covered whilst we get some training._

_Lui Bei is a great guy so far, he cares about everyone and everything in this country, even going as far as saying that he will bring this land out of the chaos and bring around a golden age of prosperity._

I laughed a bit at this part, that was every conquerors dream, bringing around an age of peace and making sure it lasted. I sat down on the bed, continuing.

_Apparently, we are getting ready to attack some provinces in Jing. According to Simon, there actually meant to belong to Wu, but we're moving first to take them. If you move fast, you should be able to take them. Quan should be able to amass the necessary soldiers without sending you out._

_(Simon) Tell Quan that He should move out with Zhou Tai, Huang Gai and Taishi Ci to the southern Jing area. I'll buy some time for Quan, but I can't do too much as it might make me look suspicious._

_(Sarah) I don't want to Fight Craig, but I'm sure that if Lui Bei and Wu were to fight each other, then we'd have to fight. And myself and Simon sure as hell don't want to fight you._

_(Sim…Sar…Sim _(an ink trail on the page, I presumed they'd fought over who should right) _SIMON) Finally got control of the… (SARAH) hold on a minute_

I laughed as I examined this, seems that they couldn't really agree as to what to put down on the letter. Loads of crossing outs and smudges, along with the (Sim…Sar…Sam) everywhere. Eventually, about halfway down the page, we get back to the letter.

_(Simon) sorry about that, anyway, we don't want to fight, but if we have to, I hope to fight you. It's not exactly high on my list, but I'm sure, if that happens, you'll find some way out of this. (Sarah) you're that type of person, trying to find a way out of problems._

_(Simon) If this was like a game back home, what would you have to do to finish it? That should help. (Sarah) and by the way, apparently your favourite weather is on the way._

_We'll do our best to maintain relations this side, just do your best over there. We'll try to keep in touch but may lose track sometimes_

_Sarah and Simon_

Well, looks like their getting along well. I smiled, thinking that maybe I should write back, after all, they'll want to know what's going on this end. I rested my head on the bed, putting my stuff down beside it, getting my old stuff on. You know the part leather part steel clothes.

"If this were a game…" I started, talking to myself. "…then to get home we'd have to reunite the land" I reasoned, strapping on the arm guards. "Which brings us back to the point of I was right" I found a 'mirror' of sorts in the room, looking at it and finding that my scar wasn't really healing or getting worse…I guess I was stuck with it for a while then.

I heard footsteps nearby, walking over to the door and seeing Gan on my left. He still looked 'quite' angry and soaked. Ling and Shang Xiang were just behind him. I could tell what was going to happen.

"Come 'ere Fu!" he shouted, starting to run. I ran as well, hoping to evade a fight with Gan. I thought back to the event, still smiling as I thought about how soaked he got. We ran by some of the Wu soldiers and officers, everyone of them staying out of the way.

I ran outside, stopping as I noticed the snow falling in quite heavy outbreaks. I walked around in wonder, enjoying the snow while it lasted. Sure it was cold, but why miss out on something you love just because of a little chance of getting a cold. (If I get a cold or something later on, then I'm sure someone would moan)

I walked up to the gate of the palace, feeling something tackle me to the ground. I hit the ground hard, feeling the steel hit my chest. I looked at who the aggressor was, finding it was Gan.

"Got you now" he taunted, an evil look in his eye…I was sure he had some evil scheme. "Ling, Shang Xiang, you two ready?"

"On your mark" they both replied. I tried to struggle out of Gan's grip but failed…some might say epically.

Gan picked me up, turning me round to face the pair. They both had snowballs ready, smiling as they saw my face. Ling was throwing his up and catching it. I think I knew what was going to happen.

"Fire at will" Gan told them, letting me go and running to the side and quickly gathering up some snow. My face must have dropped…along with my jaw as Ling managed to hit my mouth with a snowball. I ducked, grabbing some snow as I was pelted with LOADS of snowballs.

"I'm gonna kick your spiteful asses" I told them, grabbing some snow and throwing it at Gan. He definitely felt it as it hit his chest. He recoiled, grabbing some snow and throwing it at Ling.

I looked round while dodging some snow balls, other officers and some soldiers and villagers had followed our example, laughing and joking as they had snowball fights. I managed to get Shang Xiang throwing snow at Gan so that I could sneak away. I couldn't see Quan or Zhou out here, so I presumed they were inside.

I got to the entrance before they noticed I was gone. I heard Ling say something like 'over there, quick' before I got pelted by about…what? 50 or so. I ran inside, seeing a volley of the missiles flying by. I ran towards the throne room, hoping Quan would be in their. I looked behind me, seeing that no one was following me.

After a bit of running (and a few sneezes…damn) I found Quan in the throne room, Zhou Tai at his side. He looked outside, seeing the snow falling and had a smile on his face.

"I guess everyone's enjoying themselves" he spoke, looking over towards me. "I know that you, Gan Ning, Sister and Ling Tong definitely are"

"Is it really that obvious?" I replied, walking over to him, scratching the back of my head. "I'm wondering why you don't join us"

"I can't…I have a kingdom to manage"

"Well, I might have some information from Shinra that might interest you"

He looked at me, smiling as I said this…I had a feeling he knew what I was going to say. His face did show a bit more wisdom then I thought he would have at his age…I thought he was 20, I'll admit that.

"He basically asks that you move to take the southern Jing province, along with Huang Gai, Zhou Tai and Taishi Chi. Lui Bei is planning on taking them and he wants Wu to have them" I explained. Quan just smiled, he could still trust his Ninja.

"I'm aware of Lord Lui Bei's plans" he told me, smiling. "He can have Jing if he wants, so long as he keeps to the alliance"

"My lord, may I ask something that might seem out of place?" I asked, bowing to him. He nodded, looking at me. "What are your hopes for this land, once you conquer it?"

"I've been asked that many times" he replied, smiling. "And still I do not tire of answering" he walked around, hoping I would listen intently. "I wish to leave the land in the hands of this kingdom, Cao Cao's empire and whatever Lui Bei wants for his territory down in the southeast"

"My lord, you mean you want a divided land?" I asked, getting up. He nodded, smiling.

"If we let the land grow as one country, we'll never know who was right…if we let the land be three kingdoms then we can see who had the right dream"

"That is a noble dream"

"This is against what my father and brother wanted"

"Then you better make sure you believe in it one hundred percent"

I stood up, starting to leave the room. I stopped at the door way, thinking of what Shang Xiang had said earlier about her having to marry Lui Bei. I turned back towards Sun Quan. He looked back at me, surprised.

"Are you ok lord Xi?" He asked me.

"Just wonder my lord, but are you offering your sister as part of the alliance?" I asked him…yes it was quite blunt, but I needed an answer.

"That is correct" he answered, looking quite surprised.

"How come?"

"Well, it was the only thing that we of Wu could offer at the time"

"We've given them two of our officers, shouldn't that be enough?"

"She agreed to it"

"What if I told you she doesn't want to marry him?"

Quan looked surprised as I said this, Zhou Tai getting his sword ready. I stood ready to dodge him.

"How did you…" Quan started, looking at me.

"Doesn't really matter now does it?" I answered, looking at him. "What matters is what's best for Wu and the people in it"

He nodded as I said this, knowing that I was right. He put his hand on his head, rubbing his head.

"Alright, I guess we'll tell Lui Bei the terms have changed" he told me, surrendering. I smiled at that. I cared for my friends so ii had to make sure at least a few were happy.

"Thank you. Tell him Nu Wa and Shinra are part of the deal" I told him. He nodded, seeing the wisdom in my words.

I ran out, seeing Gan, Shang Xiang and Ling to my right….with snowballs…oh shit.

"Ready?" Gan asked.

"Aim" Ling spoke. I started running again.

"Fire!" Shang Xiang yelled, all of them throwing their icy projectiles at me.

_I love the snow, and I guess these guys did as well…and remind me never to piss off Gan ever again. That was practically how the rest of the day went, the guys stopping so I could write another letter back to the pair. Basically telling them the plan. I'm sure that Shang Xiang would be happier with whoever she had in mind._

_And now, in this brief period of peace, we must prepare for the battles ahead._


	21. Peace time

Chapter 20: Peace time.

_There's something about knowing you're in a temporary period of peace…you enjoy it as much as possible, but get ready to fight again……Something at the back of your mind tells you 'it'll start again…you know it'. The only thing on my mind apart from that was Sarah and Simon's well being._

I think I overdid the snow, as I was bed ridden with cold for a few days. Shang Xiang, Ling and Gan got off lightly, only being in bed for a day. They even visited to gloat about the fact. While I was annoyed at being bed ridden for something so small, these days anything could kill you if not properly taken care of.

From what I gathered, Simon was right; Lui Bei moved to take the southern Jing province and managed to get a good base to move out from. He had agreed to my lord's offer…I never thought I'd say anything like that. I guess I'll have to get used to saying it.

Shang Xiang got a lot happier ever since she heard the wedding was off. I still hold my thought of she had someone else in mind. I didn't know who, but I didn't want to pry. I looked out of the window; the snow had melted the day before I was due to return to active duty.

Those few days were BORING. All I could do was lay there and think…and think some more…maybe sleep a bit but not much more then normal. Occasionally I would try to sneak out and train a bit, but I was always caught by someone and carried back in here.

One the final day, the doctor came in with a clip board and a feather, ink on the end of the feather. (Good old quills) He was steadily filling it in.

"If you would, my lord, I would ask you to do some things for me" he started, me getting out of bed.

"Sure, if it'll get me out of here quicker" I replied, smiling. he looked back at his board.

"First off, can you do 20 push ups?" I complied, getting into position and starting. He put a weight on my back, which didn't really feel like much to start with but then took a lot out of me at the end. I got back up after said 20. "Now balance on one leg for a minute"

"Easy" I told him, getting into position. He pulled out a weight, this one looking heavy; he motioned for me to hold it while doing this. I grabbed the weight, nearly falling over as I did so.

He basically went on from there, asking me to do simple exercises. I passed them all with flying colours, apparently. I was allowed to leave to get back on with duties. My first order was to oversee the new recruits while they trained, along with Zhou Yu.

When I got there, the troops were armed with a variety of weapons, getting into lines and columns and all of that Military stuff…you know the drill. Zhou Yu stood next to the swordsmen, swinging his sword around like them. They followed his lead…thank god they had wooden weapons the rate they were flying around at.

I stood near the crossbow men, seeing them load up a 'dummy' bolt, aim and fire in 5 seconds, each one getting close to the centre. They held crossbows that were quite large compared to mine, having too hold and fire them with two hands. I could hold mine with one hand and use the other to load. And firing was a breeze.

One of them held his crossbow off, if you get what I mean. He rested it against his chest and aimed, guessing where to fire and missing. He loaded another bolt, resting it against his chest again.

"Wait" I told him, walking over to him. He stopped 'aiming' and looked at me. "You don't fire it like that"

"How do you fire it then my lord?" he asked, lowering the crossbow.

"If I may" I held out my hands for the weapon, the soldier passing it to me. "You hold it like this" I held the crossbow at head height so I looked down the weapon's sight. "Check where your target is" I moved round so that I could get a clear shot. "hold your breath" I did what I said. "And fire"

I fired the weapon, seeing the bolt fly towards the target and hit the bull's eye. I was as surprised as everyone around me, as I saw the soldiers look at the target then look at me. I lowered the crossbow, looking at the soldier I borrowed it off.

"If you take all that in and keep calm in battle, then you'll be great with this" I told him, handing the weapon back. He nodded, getting another bolt out. I looked at the soldiers, thinking of something to say. "This isn't a show lads, get back to work"

They all nodded, loading another bolt each and firing. I was amazed at the accuracy they had after my little show. I walked to the back of the room, looking at my hands. I had never used a crossbow before I came here, and somehow I'm miraculously brilliant with one. Maybe the Fu side of me contributing that skill, maybe the weapons and energy thing was because of that.

"That was a good way of training troops" Zhou Yu told me, walking over to me. I looked at him, seeing him smile.

"Thanks, I guess" I replied, putting my hands across my chest. Zhou coughed like hell, putting his hand on his chest. "You ok?"

"I'm fine…just my age"

"You don't look that old"

"Thanks for the compliment" he coughed again, this time punching his chest. He didn't look very well.

"Seriously, Zhou, get some rest, you don't look to good" I uncrossed my hands, walking closer to him.

"I'm…fine" he told me. suddenly he collapsed onto the ground.

The rest was just a blur. I saw myself go to the ground and try to find a pulse. I looked at the soldiers, shouting something like 'someone, get a doctor!' and a soldier running off. The rest looked at me, wondering what was going on. They saw Zhou Yu on the ground, not knowing what to do.

The rest just whizzed by. I don't know what happened, all I knew was I was standing in the doctor's room, Zhou in the bed with, who I presume is, his wife crying at his side. I felt sorrow wash over me as I saw the doctor walk in.

"I'm sorry" he started, looking between me and Zhou's wife. "There's nothing we can do"

"Please, there has to be something" I replied, a tear running down my face.

"We can't reverse death my lord" he replied, looking at the bed. "He's gone, there is nothing to do but grieve"

I stood watch outside the room for a bit, not wanting to grieve. I didn't want to lose such a talented officer and friend. Throughout the day, as people heard the news, they came to pay their respects to him. Everyone I knew came along, and some civilians were allowed in.

I think Quan was the last one to visit, and this was around night time…wow, time flies. He came out, obviously having used a lot of tears up. He looked at me, seeing me in a seemingly cold state…well I wasn't crying, and I don't really show emotions.

"Are you ok, lord Xi?" he asked me, looking concerned. I looked back at him, seeing worry in his eyes.

"I'm fine…what about you?" I asked in response. "What are we going to do without a strategist?"

"That problem is being taken care of. Right now we have to stay strong for him and unite the land" he looked into the room, thinking for a bit. "It was his and brothers dream"

"My lord, I'll make sure that dream comes true" I told him, smiling. "The demon of war shall blight the battle fields for Wu"

"I know Fu, but just be sure that you're ready for any duty" Quan replied, putting his hand on my shoulder. "You're smart; maybe you should read some strategy books and see what happens"

I smiled as he said this, not thinking of what he had just said. Quan walked off, going back to duties most likely. I stood outside the door a bit longer, still thinking. Eventually I set off to my room, hoping to get some sleep.

_I've been here, what, a few days. I've killed plenty of people on the battlefield without a second thought or after effect…so why has Zhou's death affected me so much? I thought about Quan's words, deciding to listen to what he had said and start reading._

**

* * *

**

To all you Zhou Yu fans, I'm sorry if his death wasn't dramatic enough. It had to come sometime.


	22. time moves on

Chapter 21: time moves on

_The day after Zhou Yu died; he was buried. The whole of Wu came out to see him off. Each one shocked to think someone as smart, lively…young could die. I'll be honest; it scared me to think of death._

Two, near enough three, years after Zhou Yu's death, I had gotten used to the old…or rather, current way of life. I did my fair share of work here and there and exchanged letters and information with Nu and Shinra. All of us had failed to find any more 'world travellers' but I didn't really think about that, more how Fei Quan and Ma Wengi were getting on. I hadn't heard a word about them.

Some days, when I had nothing else to do and just wanted to talk to someone, I would visit the grave, talking about what was going on, how we were coping, about me, Nu and Shinra and so on. The grave itself was right next to the Sun graves. Sun Ce's was right next to Zhou's, I looked at the age, seeing it showed him dieing at around 20. Next to that was Sun Jain's…I hadn't heard that name before I came here. In the time I was here, I found out he was the leader of Wu in the early days. The tiger of Jiang Dong or something like that.

"So this is where you are" I heard Ling say behind me. I turned round to see him spinning his beloved nunchucks. "We were all wondering where you were"

"I've been thinking" I replied, smiling. "2 years ago I was just starting here"

"Yeah…about that" he shifted nervously as he spoke. "Me, Shang Xiang, Gan, Xun and Xiao Qiao…"

"Xiao Qiao?"

"Zhou's widow"

"Oh…moving on"

"We're on about going out for a few drinks of sake tonight and were wondering if you would like to join us"

I put my hand to my chin, trying to remember the legal drinking age back home…what? I had to stick to something. I think 18 was legal back home.

"Sure, I'll come along" I answered, smiling.

"Great. Meet us at the gate at sundown" he replied, running off.

I smiled a bit more, thinking about what it might be like to drink sake…well; it was some form of alcohol at least, apparently. I walked away from the graveyard to my room in the palace; looking through for a book and a quill with ink pot…surprisingly it wasn't spilt.

I put quill to paper, starting off a little diary of sorts. The first few pages were dedicated to my old life, remembering the friends, family…laws, possessions and so on that I had left behind. When I was done with that, I started off writing about my life as Fu Xi so far…which was eventful to say the least.

Parts of my old…or rather, new life, were vanishing from my memory, I knew that. I couldn't quite make out the name of school. If we did make it home, we would have AGES of 'rehabilitation' in order to get back to our old lives. I could just see one day I'm meant to bring in a book on peace and end up bringing in a massive sword.

When I had finished the log up to the modern date, I closed it, leaving it on the desk with the quill near it. I got up, seeing my blade resting against a wall near my bed. I remembered something I was meant to do today, me and Quan were going to do a bit of reading and training…I don't know why he asked for the reading side…maybe he was going to introduce me to someone who was doing the same thing…maybe it was just because he wanted to read up on a few things…who knows? (Except Quan)

I grabbed the blade, just in case I needed it, strapping it to my back and leaving the room. I looked at Nu's room, thinking of the time we had here…I occasionally walked into it, remembering all the good times. All her stuff had been sent to Lui Bei's army.

I hadn't really heard much about Lui Bei's army after they moved south to take southern Jing. I did hear some people in Wu's army moaning about the fact that 'we should have taken the southern Jing province in accordance to our alliance'. I didn't mind, we had an equal chance to win and had power to oppose Cao Cao.

I do believe I heard I rumour about Lui Bei taking Cheng Du in the west. Nu and Shinra weren't really mentioned in that report, but I had heard about a dual swordsman and a bow woman dealing numerous deaths in the enemy ranks. Could have been any one as far as I knew.

I arrived in the 'records and library' area, as it was known throughout the ranks. I saw Quan talking to a soldier about something, I couldn't really tell what but it seemed small. He heard my footsteps as I came in, the soldier doing a bow and walking away.

"Lord Fu Xi, how nice to see you" he started, walking over to me. He had his sword on him so I guessed we were going to train.

"My lord" I replied, doing the hand thing. "How are you today?"

"I'm fine, what about you?"

"Been worse, just wondering what we are doing here"

"For that, you'll have to follow me"

He walked further into the library, me following. We passed several 'old' bookshelves and cases, most filled with old scrolls and books but several were empty. Tables were set out all over with chairs and books to use/read.

"IF you don't mind me asking my lord…" I started, he turned his face. "Who's taking over from Lord Zhou Yu?"

"That would be Lord Lu Meng?" he replied, smiling. "He has learned a lot over the years, and I'm hoping he proves himself in our next battle"

"Gan'll love that"

We eventually found what Quan wanted me to see. A pile of books which, on closer inspection, were all dedicated to the art of strategy…ok, now I'm worried. Quan walked over to the books, I followed.

"I would ask that you read these books, Fu Xi" he started, smiling. "I'm sure you would make a fine tactician or strategist"

"Hold on, we already have that covered" I replied, wondering if he had forgotten in the space of 10 seconds. "Lu Meng is taking over from Zhou Yu, and I'm sure Lord Lu Xun could more then take over for Lu Meng if the need arises"

"True as that may be, they can't always be deployed with the main army" he walked around, looking at the books and scrolls. "If they have to retreat off the battlefield or are engaged in a battle already, then we need someone to take over"

"What about Lu Su?"

"He's more domestic issues if you get my drift"

"Fine"

"So you'll do it"

"I fail to see the point, but I will, alright" I walked over to the books, picking them up and finding they blocked my field of view. "Now help me get these to my room"

He led the way…not really helpful when you can't see a bloody thing. The book pile tried to fall over on many occasions, leading to many a entertaining moment as I had to lunge forward to keep them from falling forward, then leaning back to prevent them falling backwards.

When I dropped the books off at my room. (Literally dropping them off onto the bed) Quan gave me the annoying news that he was too busy to do any practise, which really put me down. I barely did anything but read for the rest of the day, waiting for the sun to get close to setting.

* * *

A few hours later, I heard footsteps outside my room. I decided to ignore them, thinking it might be something trivial like a soldier walking by or someone on round. I heard a knock on the door, stopping reading and turning to the door.

"Yeah" I spoke. The door sliding open. Shang Xiang was on the other side looking in. she looked quite good with her make up on. I stood up, seeing her smile.

"What do you think?" She asked, leaning on the door…I think the words 'gob smacked' come into mind as my moth hung open. She laughed as she saw me do this. "Do I really look that good?"

"Well put it this way, if I compared to you to the eternal rose, then you would put it to shame"

"Rose?"

"If I compared you to the most beautiful flower imaginable, you'd win by miles"

"Ah, thank you" she walked up to me and gave me a peck on the cheek. "Now haven't you got to get ready?"

I nodded, standing up and walking over to my boots. I shoved them on, hoping around the room as I did. (I believe I made her laugh as I fell over whilst getting it on). I eventually strapped my boots on, feeling them dig into my leg to cling on.

"I'm ready to move" I spoke, standing up. "So where exactly are we going?"

"Oh, just a few taverns in town" She answered, walking over to me.

"Few as in one or two or few as in as many as we have to when we get kicked out?"

"The second option"

"Fair enough"

We left the room, getting to the gate at night and finding a tavern extremely quickly. Turned out Gan, Ling, Xun and Xiao (I guessed it was her, she turned out to look great and young, around Xun's age. And she appeared to be over Zhou's death) were all in the tavern, talking to each other about who gets what rounds. Me and Shang Xiang walked over to them, both smiling.

"Good evening" I said to them, everyone turning to face me, smiling as they saw us both entering together. "Sorry we're late"

"You're not late, we've only just got here ourselves" Xun replied, smiling. Xiao Qiao stood up, bowing to me.

"It's nice to meet you Lord Fu Xi" she spoke, coming out of the bow. "I'm Xiao Qiao. And I'm…grateful, you were there for Zhou Yu when he died"

"I'm sorry for your bereavement, my lady" I replied, bowing back. "I did only what anyone would do"

"Er, Guys, a little less morbidity would be nice" Ling told us, looking quite annoyed. "Now someone hurry up and get in some drinks"

Everyone concurred and, seeing as though me and Shang Xiang were the last two in, we got the first round in, getting everyone a drink and raising a cup to Wu's future.

You can most likely guess what happened next, we basically drank a lot and had a nice time. Somehow we started a drinking contest to see who would be the first to die, which we ended up stopping when we thought about death so it was changed to the first one to be knocked out. We abandoned that as well as we ended up to drunk to know what we were actually doing a drinking contest to.

I think it was either 20, 25, 30….maybe 50…who knows? Anyway, after a long nights drinking Xiao and Xun ended up cuddling up, Ling had managed to fall unconscious and me, Gan and Shang Xiang were ALMOST too drunk to do anything without falling over, laughing uncontrollably or starting a drunken brawl. (Which, might I add, Ling nearly did 10 times before he fell unconscious)

"I guess…we better…head back…to the, urrr, thing" Gan managed to say, slurring half of his words.

"Agreed" I replied, slurring that…first time drunk, what do you expect?

"5 more minutes" Shang Xiang spoke, hiccupping every few seconds.

"We'd better…go now" Gan said, somehow standing up and carrying Ling without any lapse in his movement…to the untrained eye/ear/idiot, he wasn't drunk.

"I suppose so" I replied, standing up. Xun stood up, carrying Xiao silently.

"I think I'll stick with Fu tonight" Shang Xiang told the group, slurring the words and stumbling to her feet. "Besides…I have thing I want to talk to him about"

I picked her up to make sure she didn't wander off somewhere she'd regret. She gigged as I did this, enjoying the ride obviously. All three of us able to walk left the place, swaying from side to side every so often as we walked down deserted streets, the scene was almost a blur.

"You're my bestest friend, Fu" Shang Xiang started, moving a bit in my arms.

"That's nice to know" I replied, nearly hitting a wall as I swayed.

"Do you love me?" the words were extremely slurred but I could make them out.

"What?" I thought she was only a little blunt

"I love you…do you love me too?"

"My god you're more drunk then I thought" I pushed her question to the back of my head.

"Come on…you can tell me" she put her head next to my ear. "Don't you want a partner?"

"Shang Xiang, you're Drunk, alright" I told her. She went back to her old position, looking ahead.

"Fine!"

We got into the palace, the lads and me going our separate ways to get to our rooms…that is, if we could remember the way. Gan tried at least twice to remember the locations of his and Ling's room while Xun just walked in a random direction, looking round for his room.

I was drunk enough to be noisy, but not drunk enough to not know where my room was. I walked in the direction, stumbling every so often as I did so. Shang Xiang was fast asleep in my arms…I'll admit, she was good looking, and she did have a nice personality…did she really say what she did from her drunken state?

Eventually, we got to my room, the door wide open. Under a normal state of mind, I would have put her in my or the spare bed and gone into the other. But as I was drunk, I put her into the bed, getting in alongside her, facing away so I didn't get any ideas. She rolled over in the bed, feeling my back and putting her arms around me.

I looked at the window, seeing the stars in the sky. They were different to back home, I already knew that, but something about being drunk for the first time made me look at them differently…then the alcohol kicked in and I fell asleep just like that.

'_I love you…do you love me too?'_

_When I first heard Shang Xiang say this I thought of two things: she was either drunk or she really did love me. One thing was for sure…we'd all have killer hangovers in the morning. And I would have to ask her about the remark._

* * *

As I've never been drunk in my life (Or so I think) I don't really know how being drunk affects you from personal experience (Thank god) so I'm hoping I didn't do too badly in this one.

And with Shang Xiang……………………………………………being drunk makes you d weird things…especially being blunt as hell…if hell was made of hammer heads and maces and the like.


	23. a quiet day?

Chapter 22: a quiet day?

_I think it was the drink that did it, but what Shang Xiang said did sorta was surprising either way. I wasn't prepared for love, I was only 18, and in a different time or world. If I left and someone was in love with me…well, it would hurt us both._

The light of the sun burnt into my eyes as I woke up. My head felt like a truck had hit me and my stomach felt a mess. I felt two arms around my chest, remembering that Shang Xiang was in the same bed as me after that night of drinking. I moved my hands to hers, slowly and gently prying them off and getting out of bed silently.

The amount of stories I had heard about hangovers being EXETREMLY painful or sick or what not, it didn't actually feel that bad. I was expecting a lot more, I'll admit, and it was bad. But it wasn't as bad as I had heard. I looked at my clothes, thinking of getting changed into a different set of clothes.

I decided against it, slowly and silently standing up and moving out of the room. Every movement I made echoed in my head…ok, it was a bit worse then first impressed. I opened the door even slower then normal, walking through and closing it behind me. I stopped before I closed it, seeing Shang Xiang spread herself out along the bed.

I closed the door, that image stuck in my head. She was beautiful, I had known that since I joined this army, but…well, I just hadn't realised it until now if you know what I mean. I shook my head, refocusing.

"Well, may as well go for some food" I said to myself, turning down the corridor and heading to the mess hall. Shang Xiang needed the sleep, so I let her sleep. The whole palace seemed to be quiet today, and I think we're halfway through winter. Maybe their getting ready to set the seeds into the soil again for a new harvest.

The mess hall was scarily quiet, only the chef and a few cleaners and even less soldiers. Avoiding useless conversations, I got some food from the guy, which was mainly leftovers, consisting of peach buns, peach buns and more peach buns. Shame they didn't have any meat left…and no wine or sake or whatever they gave out. (I was fine with water and, subsequently, laughed at back a while after Chi Bi when I asked for some water instead of some Sake or what not)

I grabbed a second load of food for Shang Xiang, the chef giving me one of those 'why do you want that much?' looks, which I subsequently answered with a 'none of your business' looks, heading back to check on Shang Xiang, taking a plate with me.

Oh yeah, something I forgot to mention had changed over the two years. You remember the scar I told you about on my face, it sorta half healed, half not healed. I was doing a patrol duty in 'Wu', as in the territory, not the kingdom, even though Wu is in Wu; anyway, I was doing a bit of patrol duty when it split open, blood gushed down my face.

That was the bad news, but the good news is that, because it was extremely fresh, the doctors could stitch it up (Painfully) and it would be a bit less…gruesome then it was before. So my scar is a bit better then it was before but still there…I wouldn't be surprised that's the best it gets. I had a few flesh wounds from a few bandit battles, but they healed perfectly with no visible marks. And I learned how to play an ocarina

Anyway, moving on. I got back to my room, seeing the door still closed. I put my ear to the door, not hearing any noise inside. I slowly but carefully opened it, looking inside. Shang Xiang had gone, I'll be honest, I was expecting her to be in the room at the least, not up and about and somewhere else.

"I guess she's better at recovering from stuff then I thought" I said to myself, putting the spare peach buns on the table. I had one spare for myself, picking it up and juggling it into my other hand. The 'window' was open, sunlight trailing in and lighting up the bed.

I poked my head out, leaning on the edge and looking around the area, eating my peach bun. I heard a thud in the wood near where I was, looking and seeing an arrow.

"That's not the least bit ironic" I told myself, sarcastically. I grabbed the arrow out of the wood, seeing a little letter on it. "Well, wonder who this could be from"

I pulled the letter off…well; it was actually two letters in one, but still. I let them fall to the table before putting the arrow down, taking another bit out of my peach bun. I grabbed one of the letters, which was actually quite small for what it was.

_Dear Fu Xi_

_Me and Shinra have been fighting in the Shu ranks for a bit now. Bit of a scare in our first battle for them when we came against a guy in a mask called Wei Yan. Shinra got a massive cut in his arm, blood pouring down it and everything._

_I held him back with my bow, the strength he had was beyond belief. He couldn't really talk; he just spoke in single words at a time with massive breaks in between. My weapon broke on the field, annoyingly. If it wasn't for Guan Yu and his spear, (Blue dragon) we would have died there._

_Somehow, while he beat Wei Yan back, I got Shinra to safety, getting him on Vampire Fang (My horse) and getting him back to Jing. The doctors managed to save his arm, but he has a scar. He hasn't shown any difference in skill, but I wouldn't be surprised it hurts him a lot more then he lets on._

_I, on the other hand, had a run in during the battle of Cheng Du. I was working with Pang Tong to take the northern perimeter, when we came under attack from archers and Ma Chao. While we managed to fight off the archers (In part to my shield but Pang Tong knew some wind Magic) we lost him, Pang Tong I mean. I fought Ma Chao using my rapier and Shield and…well, he over powered me._

_A little scarring on my thigh, but nothing much. I'll keep fighting, I know that much._

_So how are things your end? I've heard a few things about you being told by Sun Quan to learn a bit of strategy. Must be fun. And how are you ith your blade. I've managed to get a tutor to teach some of the secrets of archery, but he doesn't use a bladed bow so I must teach myself that end._

_And the demon of Wu? Shinra's the living shadow and I'm the Angel of war! Couldn't you get a better name?_

_Any who, better get going. I'll see you soon Fu, I'll be sure to get a few marks in if we fight._

_Nu_

Well, it's nice to hear from her again, I'll admit. She must have fired the arrow to get my attention and read it. But then comes the question of the second letter. I picked it up, unrolling it and reading it.

_If you want, meet me at your spot and bring breakfast. I have a feeling I need to explain last night._

_Shang Xiang_

Ok, she is definitely a stronger girl then I give her credit for. I got a bag out, putting the peach buns in and hanging it over my back, grabbing my long sword and strapping it and the sheath to my side. I walked out of my room, turning right at the corridor. I saw Xun and Gan after a bit, both talking about something.

"Well, looks like some people have got up" I told them, smiling as I stopped next to them, they looked at me, both looked wild eyed.

"Yeah, yeah" Gan told me, smiling. "You think I took a while, he was up after me"

"Gan, I was awake before you, just trying to sneak out of the room" Xun replied, looking quite serious.

"Hey, we can argue later, but, in better subjects, are Ling and Xiao awake yet?" I asked them, moving my arm so it was comfortable.

"Tong's snoring away, that much is certain" the pirate told me, scratching the back of his head. "And I think lover boy here has left Xiao in bed"

"Lord Fu Xi, What about Lady Shang Xiang?" the youth asked me.

"She went out somewhere…apparently my spot" I answered, keeping my hand held up. "That's where I plan to go to right now"

"Fair enough, just remember, we have training later" Gan told me. I nodded back, smiling. "You know what that means"

"Another chance to try and get the crown" I answered.

I should really explain. Because of what we did back in Xia Kou raised the soldiers' morale, we proposed to Lord Sun Quan after Chi Bi that we have a little arena set up so we can fight between us, relieve stress, raise troop morale with our strength and dexterity and general get bragging rights to see who is the strongest in Wu. The last time we fought in that tourney, I went out in the last round against Zhou Tai…he was strong, too strong for me. But I plan to win this time. The winner last time was Huang Gai, and he was strong and fit for his age.

"Right, make sure you're back in time for it" he told me, smiling whilst holding his fist out.

"I will be" I reassured him, punching his fist. "Who can have a tournament without a demon to spice things up?"

"See you there then" Gan told me, walking by me. Xun did the same, bowing before he left.

Ok, either the sake is weaker then I thought, or no one really got drunk, just tipsy. Whatever the case, no one really has a hangover…and I recovered from mine quickly, but then again, I do have a knack for that.

I walked to the stables, getting Hell Runner and mounting him. He was already saddled and what not, obviously Shang Xiang had been through here to get her horse. You know I said about my own scars of war, well, my saddle hasn't exactly got off lightly, and Hell runner has taken a load of hits. Nothing too bad, just a few scratches.

I got Hell Runner running, heading towards my old spot…I hadn't been there in years. Bringing the peach buns with me. After about 2 hours riding, given the wintery roads, I arrived just outside the forest where my spot was, stopping my horse and getting off, running inside.

The forest had practically been untouched by time. Some new trees were growing and the distinct scent of life could be smelt. I heard squirrels in the trees, fighting over nuts and the odd panda…panda?

I eventually arrived at the 'glade' as I may as well call it now, not seeing Shang Xiang anywhere nearby. Well that's great, first time out with her alone and she's nowhere to be seen. I put the bag down, sitting next to it and relaxing.

"Come, let us forget that the future ahead" I heard someone sing, getting up and looking round. "But still, we look to the sky, and see the crimson rain" I tried to place it, looking at the top of the waterfall and hearing it from there. "And when you feel the sharp pain, of the wind surrounding you" I starting running round, trying to find a way up with my bag. "It's clear that there is…no escape"

"Can we run away? Can we run away? From a dark destiny that's far too sad? I'm sure that you're…not a flower from hell like they say. But they'll never see you! When you fully bloom, when you fully bloom that's when you'll see, you'll live another day. The shards of time continue to flutter by with without a sound"

I got up to the top, seeing Shang Xiang sitting on the ground, singing the song while looking at the sky. She stopped singing there, turning round and looking at me.

"Took you long enough" she told me, smiling.

"Ran into Gan and Xun" I told her, smiling back. "Turns out Xiao and LingTong are still sleeping"

"Really, I would have said Ling would have been first awake"

"Same here" I sat down next to her, undoing the bag. "Here's your breakfast. Sorry they only had leftovers"

She put her hand into the bag, pulling out a peach bun and biting into it. She looked like she enjoyed it. I looked round, seeing her…Chakam I believe there called them, next to her. I unstrapped my sword, putting it next to me. I don't know why but I felt odd sitting there next to a waterfall.

"So how are you today?" I asked her. She swallowed her peach bun bit before answering.

"I fine, thank you fir asking" she replied, looking at the sky. "How about you my lord?"

"I'm fine, thanks"

"Good"

"Do you mind explaining about last night?"

_Well we can't all have our answers can we? She looked at me, smiling and happy. I wish I hadn't of asked then._


	24. My story

Chapter 23: my story

_Shang Xiang is probably the nicest, most beautiful girl you'd ever hope to meet. I hope I never meet her on the battle field. I think I was right to tell her._

She looked at me, smiling as she did so. I smiled back, looking over the waterfall. Shang Xiang followed my gaze, seeing three birds fly out of the forest.

"My lord, I was out of it last night" she explained, her smile going. "I don't know exactly what I said"

"I remember the words being something like 'I love you, do you love me?'" I told her, relaxing on the grass. "I'll be honest; I think you were WAY out of it"

I could see Shang Xiang look at me, blushing as I said this. She looked at the sky, hoping to avoid my gaze. I closed my eyes, getting extremely relaxed as I lay listening to the sounds of nature.

"If you don't mind me asking, Fu" Shang Xiang started. I opened one eye to look at her. "Where are you from and what's it like?"

"Oh, you wouldn't believe me if I told you" I told her. I think I may as well ditch the memory loss idea and just see where this goes.

"So you have your memory back then"

"Yeah, I just didn't think people would believe what my memories are…heck, I can't believe them myself"

"What do you see?"

I got back up, faking a pain as I remembered what I had left behind. What me, Sarah, Simon, Derrick and Melissa called home. Shang Xiang put her arm around me, trying to give me some support as I dug the memories out.

"The place I'm from is far different to this" I told her, looking at the sky. "It's like a whole other world. Beasts made of metal called 'cars' prowl the street with their owners inside them. The use of swords is restricted to knifes which are mainly used for cutting stuff. The army doesn't use swords, only things called guns which are like crossbows, only louder and more dangerous"

"While, in this world, we're stuck to the ground and the water is hard to travel, my world has conquered the sky with more beasts and even went beneath the deepest oceans to explore an even vaster world then ours. We teach the young people about the past, what's right, what's wrong and general educations in school for free and we know barely anything about war. All we know about that is what we hear and what we see from other people about it in different countries"

I stopped there, seeing Shang Xiang looking both interested and confused in what I had told her. I let the information sink in, knowing that, for someone of this age to know of a world over 1,900 years in the making would be a shock to the system if believed. For anyone to even see the world would be a big deal.

We sat in silence for what felt like an eternity. I think Shang Xiang was going through the information in her head, seeing if I was mad or had really lost my memories and just got some weird images in my head. If she believed me, then I guess I'd be in for a longer ride then I thought first off.

"Let's say I believe you" Shang Xiang starts, ending the eternity. I looked at her, wondering what she'd say. "What's to say you wouldn't leave us to go home?"

"I've started off this, and I'll never leave a friend in need" I replied, smiling. "I made a pact with Nu and Shinra that we'd go home together, and I intend to uphold that. They don't plan to leave either"

"So they are like you?"

"From the same world"

"So how did you wind up in Jing and Shinra in Wu?"

"Well, as far as I can tell, Me and Nu were together when Zuo Chi teleported us, Shinra was alone and Fei Guan and Ma Wengi, two officers in Wei who are also like us, were together"

"So that makes five"

She looked at the forest again, contemplating the extra information. A world of wonders beyond her own world taken by war. Could it even exist or was it make believe. Well, that's what I'd be asking myself in her position. It sounded too unreal in my opinion, for one who would believe that, in a thousand years time from my normal time that we'd be living on the moon…no I don't know that's me having a random guess, alright.

In all honesty, I didn't know what she'd say in response, so imagine my surprise when she got up and grabbed her Chakam. I watched her, wondering what she'd say.

"How about this?" she asked me. I got up, grabbing my sword as I did so. "That tournament tonight, if you win, I'll believe your story and tell you what you wanted to know"

"What if you win?" I asked her, strapping the sheath to my side.

"Then you will have to spend one day as my servant"

"And if you get further then me but don't win?"

"Then you'll have to train with me for a day"

"And if the opposite occurs"

"The opposite, I have to spend the day with you training"

"The last two are the same"

"The winning person in the last two cases chooses the training routine, weapons and so on"

"And if we draw"

"Well, how about we have a few nights together, as friends?"

"Sounds good to me"

"So do we have a deal?"

"My lady, we have a deal, just be prepared to lose"

I bowed to her, she returned it with a bow herself. I so wanted to win it BEFORE now, but now…MAN do I want to win it now. We both stood back up fully, smiling at each other.

"I guess we'd better head back then" I told her, putting my hands behind my back. "We have a lot to do before we start this evenings events"

"True" she replied, looking quite serious. "Just make sure you keep to your side of the bet"

"I will"

We headed back together, laughing and joking about the other officers and what had happened back in the two years.

_If I won the bet, I could find out what's going on, if I lost, I could end up being the most laughed at soldier in the whole of Wu. Then again, you have to enjoy the peace while it lasts, and I sure as hell don't want to go back to war, but I have to._

_A soldier's duty is a soldier's duty._


	25. the final, part one

Small time skip. Some of you may have wanted to see/read said tournament, but I honestly have a lot of chapters to do now, so my apologies.

* * *

Chapter 24: the final, part one

The prelude

_I really didn't think I'd get anywhere in the tournament, so I packed the rest of the day with training, even skipping lunch. As far as me and Gan were concerned, we were rivals, which really did throw him after he was beaten by Ling in the 2__nd__ round. I honestly wanted to fight Gan to get some honour back from Jing. It basically went like this._

_Me vs. Shang Xiang_

_Me vs. Huang Gai. Shang Xiang vs. Ling Tong_

_Me vs. Sun Quan. Huang Gai vs Zhou Tai. Lu Xun vs Shang Xiang. __Ling vs. Gan_

_And then there was Lu Meng, Taishi Ci, Dong Xi, Chang Pu, Han Dang, Lu Fan, Pan Zhang and Zhu Zhi._

_Imagine my surprise when I found out I WAS in the final, through luck, skill, power, a mix of the three OR a rigged competition. (Dibs on the rigged matches is what I would have said before I got here, but now I'm not so sure) So now it comes down to this._

I was worn out after the last fight with Huang Gai. For an old man, he sure is strong, I'll give him that. I looked at the wooden great sword next to me, damaged by the battles I had already endured, dented in some areas. This place was like an armoury of wooden weapons, save for seats and only one door leading to an arena.

Being in need of money to support further campaigns and improved morale among the troops, my lord…Sun Quan, had put tickets on sale in the surrounding area, making quite a lot from what I hear. The soldiers had been given free entry, as had the losers from the previous matches to the stands.

My few matches had been a tightly run thing. Lu Meng is stronger then he looks, and damn well smarter. Sun Quan was strong as well, breaking my belief that rulers sat on their backsides doing nothing but ruling in their favour, as he nearly beat me. Huang Gai isn't really my shining hour either.

Now, on another matter, I watched Shang Xiang's, Gan's and Ling's matches. Gan, who had bragged about his oh so good skill with his blade lost to Ling's 'puny sticks' as the pirate called them. He didn't look happy as he stomped off. I did laugh I'll admit, and the thought of Ling winning actually seemed real.

And then it got worse, as Shang Xiang, whom I had a bet with, beat him in the semi's, which pretty much ended my hope of just training with her. So here I am, sitting alone in the waiting room for the match to start. A wooden great sword at my side and my back against a wall.

"Come on Craig" I said to myself, looking at the door. "You're not going to lose. You have a lot to go for and you need to find out what Shang Xiang is on about with that 'love' thing" I looked at my sword, picking it up. "Since I got here, it's been great, but I haven't really had a proper back story" Actually, now that I think about (While trying to avoid hitting my head with the 'great sword' while I put it on my back in the sheath) some people have thought it odd that I haven't really got a history beyond Jing.

"I think it's time I prove how strong I am" I said to myself, smiling. "The guys should be here soon, anyway" as soon as I said that, there was a soldier running through the entrance.

"My lord, you are requested" he told me, bowing.

"Thank you" I told him, bowing back. "Tell Lord Sun Quan to get things ready for this fight"

"Yes my lord"

He ran off back to the arena after I said that to him. Right then, is it time for the demon to show his strength? May as well do. I decided to walk through the door to the wooden tunnel. (Whoever built this might want to look at our football pitches, or even roman gladiator arenas) the crowd was chanting either 'Fu Xi, Fu Xi' or 'Lady Sun, Lady Sun'. Now, to be honest, I would prefer to hear 'Shang Xiang' being chanted, but at least they aren't chanting 'Demon boy, demon boy' or even (rip off here) 'Hell boy, hell boy'

Now, to be honest, this tunnel was well made, and, I think, it stretches beneath the earth. For this to exist (To which I have no knowledge of anything like this being found in modern day China, to which my knowledge is SEVERLY limited) something must have changed…either that or something will change again to get rid of this all together, or, better yet, it stays and we get re-enactments in modern day China…………nah, things aren't going to change that much…are they?

As I walked down the tunnel to the arena, the sword on my back seemed to fell…I don't know, more lively. You know…lighter even. And considering the weight of it then you would understand what I meant…err, then again, in…err, your day and age, what are the chances of having one of these…or even using one of these in combat…or even using lost arts of fighting? (Which may as well be called magic for what it gives. I mean how often can you hold something and set it alight at will? Maybe that's where magic came from)

Now, when I came out of the tunnel, from the crowd I'd seen during my previous matches I expected a lot of noise and a big crowd. But this lot had GROWN in number a heck of a lot. While, yes, it was a small crowd (the arena only seated around 300, and then around 15 were used for officers, with some minor lieutenants taking over guard duty in places like Ru Xu Kou and the Jing border)

I looked across the arena, seeing Shang Xiang walking out of her entrance as well. She had a pair of wooden Chakam in her hands, ready for combat. We met in the centre, stopping and looking at each.

"Looks like this could be fun" I told her, smiling and getting my 'sword' off my back.

"Don't go easy on me just because I'm a woman" she told me, getting her own weapons out.

"Wasn't going to, even though back home you're meant to"

"Just forget about 'you're home', right now that doesn't matter"

"I can see why, seeing as though I have a new life here"

She didn't seem to get what I meant as I noticed her face change to one of confusion. I don't blame her….heck; I would do the same in her position. As in our previous matches, we turned to face Lord Sun Quan in his own private area, Zhou Tai next to him as a bodyguard. I managed to see both Gan and Ling near him in the front row.

"Lord Fu Xi" he started, looking at me. He then turned his gaze to Shang Xiang "Sister… for the two of you to make it to the final of this tournament shows your ability in battle…your ability to fight off whoever faces you" he looked around the crowd, smiling. "These two are, perhaps, the strongest in Wu. And Wu is the strongest in the land!"

He punched the air at this, to which the entire arena burst into a shout of 'YEAH!' and which Shang Xiang and I joined in, but raising our weapons as well. (I held my 'sword' with two hands, due to the weight behind it) Sun Quan lowered his hand, to which everyone silenced and we lowered our weapons.

"To the fighters, I wish you both the best of luck!" he continues, looking between us again. "Now, to you're positions"

"Yes my lord!" we both shouted, looking at each other and nodding, then walking about 10 paces away from each other, then turning round with our weapons in hand.

"Don't hold back" I told her, smiling.

"You'd better not either" she told me, holding her Chakam in front of her.

"I won't do" I told her, moving my sword to my side. "And I'll show you my strength"

_I knew that I had a good fight ahead of me. Shang Xiang was a good fighter from what I'd seen in the previous fights and I was good as well._

* * *

Any who, the fight's next chapter, so it's 'me' VS lady Sun. and hopefully a good fight.

I would like to say, over the course of the two years, Fu has gotten better with his sword, so if you see fancy moves beyound normal skill, thats why


	26. the final, part 2

I would like to thank Miss Lorze the Brookes, She has let me include one of her OCs in this story. If you've read the warrior of art, you know who it is. I will apologise if I've got her in the wrong clothing at the moment, but it's all I can find, oddly, apart from leather gauntlets.

* * *

Chapter 25:

The final part 2

Time to fight

_That was when I saw her. That mysterious girl…_

I held my 'blade' low, readying for whatever kind of plan Shang Xiang had. The rush of adrenaline from the crowd flowing through me. We both paced round, like one of those movie moments before the big duel between two warriors. Shang Xiang looked serious, and I did my best to look the same.

"Are we going to do this all day?" I asked her, holding my weapon above my shoulder, breaking my stance.

"I was just waiting for something" Shang Xiang replied, charging towards me. "Like an opening!"

She swung her left Chakam at my right leg, which I dodged by, obviously, raising said leg. She swung her right Chakam out after that, aiming for my chest. I swung my weapon at her to parry, only just hitting it back. I smiled, that was close. I took the defensive front so far; better let her wear herself out against my steel (Or rather wood at the moment)

She swung at my head, I jumped back to dodge. Using what little I had gained so far, I decided to jump back in, swinging my blade downwards. She moved her Chakam to block, to which both our weapons collided. I was just about stuck in midair above her, trying to force my blade down. She was trying to force me back.

"Is that all you have?" I taunted her, smiling.

"Nowhere near!" she shouted back, forcing me back and into the air. Now considering the weight of my stuff and my skill, I somehow did a back flip in the air, landing on the ground in one piece, my weapon out stretched at my side and my hand on the floor.

"This is going to be a lot more fun then I…" I started, looking at her. She was charging my again. She was quite fast, I'll give her that. "…thought?"

I rolled to the side, dodging, what I saw out of my eye corner to be, a kick. I also saw out of my eye corner that she was running to attack me again, this time doing cartwheels. I held my blade at my back; hearing and feeling her foot collide with it and her going over my head without hitting me. The whole crowd cheered at this, I just smiled, standing back up as Shang Xiang turned around.

"How did you…?" she started, I barely heard her over the crowd.

"Well I have to have some skill somewhere" I told her, resting the weapon on my shoulder. "Besides, this demon won't fall that easily"

"Apparently so" she took an offensive stance. "But it's two against one, weapon wise"

"Which is why this will be good training for me"

I moved my sword down to my side, the crowd still chanting. I looked at Ling Tong and Gan, seeing a young girl sat next to him. She had a creamy coloured sleeved top, ending at the elbows, white trousers which went down to the knees and I could just make out sandals. She had some kind of balls hanging around her neck. Oh, looks like Tong's got someone then. I wonder who she is. Either way, judging from Gan talking to her with a smile, she must be friendly.

"Fu!" someone shouted. I refocused on the match, seeing Shang Xiang running towards me.

"Jeez!" I shouted, moving my weapon in the way to block her. We both collided, resulting in me sliding a few inches backwards. Where the hell did she get this strength from? She must have a REALLY big secret, or she put some hours into training as well.

"If you're like this on the battlefield, then I'm not surprised you haven't made it through any battles" Shang Xiang told me. I looked at her, gasping.

"Oh, you're going to pay for that" I told her. I knew it was a taunt, but THAT was a low blow! "I'm not about to let my abilities be ridiculed!"

"You can't even beat me!" she shouted back, pulling one chakam off my sword quickly.

She swung it towards me. I sidestepped away from the first Chakam, pulling my sword off and blocking the second. She lost her balance but connected her second Chakam on my sword, using it as a balance. I sidestepped again, spinning around to try to finish this.

She lost her balance, falling down onto the ground. This must have been some form of divine intervention as I missed, the weight of the weapon dragging me along away from her. I managed to retake my balance, turning to face her. She got back up, her Chakam looking too damaged to use. I looked at my weapon, seeing the same thing.

"Looks like these are ruined" I told her, smiling as I threw it away.

"So now what do we do?" she asked me, throwing her weapons away.

"Spare weapons!" Quan shouted, we turned towards him, seeing him looking over the over side of the arena.

We turned that way, seeing two soldiers with a spare rack of weapons. It was full of the same stuff we started with. One of them pulled out what I assume is a spear, the other pulled out a long sword. They both threw them into the ring, me and Shang Xiang looked at each other.

"Guess that answers that" I told her.

"I want the long sword!" she shouted, running after the blade.

"I guess I'll take the spear then!" I shouted back, running towards the pole arm.

"Go on, Fu!" Gan shouted.

"You can do it Shang Xiang!" Tong Shouted.

"Go on Shang Xiang!" someone else shouted. The angle I was at in comparison to the guys actually showed me it was her…Ok, seriously, I don't know who she is, and she's probably Tong's girl, but she is good looking.

"Hey, Shang Xiang, Do you mind if I ask you something quickly?" I started, picking up the spear and spinning it round. (Well I wasn't going to stick with one weapon in training for 2 years)

"Depends what that is" she replied, picking up the long sword and spinning it in her hand.

"That girl over by Tong" she looked quickly to see who I meant.

"Oh, you mean Su Zhi" she replied, waving to her. I think I let slip the fact that I was gobsmacked in my expression.

"Who?"

"She's been serving here since you joined us as well"

"So where's she from?"

"Jing apparently"

"So she joined after the battle of Xia Kou?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I've never seen or even heard of her until today"

"Well, she apparently never heard of you until today"

"How very strange"

"Well, shall we get back to fighting?" she grabbed her sword with two hands.

"Might as well do" I told her, spinning the spear in my hand and then stopping with it resting against my thigh "Round 2"

We both charged each other again. I held the spear so that it pointed forward; Shang Xiang held her sword over her shoulder, ready to swing it down. We both swung our weapons at the same time, colliding with each other. The crowd cheered as we did so, chanting our names. This is great, if only things were like this on the battlefield.

"Shame to think this is going to end soon" I told her, smiling.

"Yes, and in my victory" she told me, smugly.

"If you believe so, but it isn't this time"

We both forced each other back, jumping a few feet back. I span my spear in my hand, Shang Xiang flipping the sword around in her hand. We were both breathing heavily, sweat falling down my brow. I better make this the last attack, time to end this. I charged back in, shouting as loud as I could. Shang Xiang charged me back, doing the same thing.

We both collided. I swung my spear again, hitting her sword with the end and sending it out of her hand. I continued the momentum, spinning round and pointing the pointy end towards her head. I smiled as Shang Xiang realised what had happened.

"Game over" I told her. The crowd erupted into raptures of cheering as I moved my spear away from her. She knelt onto the ground, punching it as she did so.

"No! So close!" she moaned. The crowd were still cheering, but some silenced as they saw this. I moved the spear so it was resting against my thigh, walking up to her and holding my hand out. She looked up at my hand, surprised I was doing that.

"Come on, there's always next time" I told her, my smile getting ever wider. "Besides, we definitely showed these guys we a force to be reckoned with" I knelt down, still holding my hand out. "Besides, the amount of times you had me on the ropes during that small fight…if that were a real battle, I wouldn't be surprised you could beat whoever it is senseless"

"But I still lost…it makes all that extra training…worthless"

"Just tell me one thing…did you enjoy this?"

She looked at me, surprised at the question. I put my weapon so that it was point down in the dirt, giving a quick stab downward in order to make sure it stood up. After a while, Shang Xiang nodded. I looked away, my eyes closed.

"Then that extra training wasn't worthless then" I told her, reopening my eyes and looking at her. "Besides, you haven't learnt anything that can't be used on the battlefield" I stood back up, holding my hand out still. "Now, Lady Sun, are you going to stay down there all day, or are we going to see what happens next" she nodded, grabbing my hand and pulling herself up. "Besides, you have your end of the deal to fulfil"

She turned red at this, looking away. I think that hit a note with her, maybe she forgot about our little bet. Hah, I think she hoped that I'd forget. I looked over towards the guys, seeing Tong talking to this 'Su Zhi'. She has my interests at the moment, considering I know nothing about her and apparently she served in the same battle I did. I turned to Lord Sun Quan, doing a quick bow.

"It appears victory is mine my lord" I told him, trying my best to look serious as the crowd silenced. Quan left it a while before answering to my annoyance.

"Lord Fu Xi" he finally spoke, getting out of his chair/throne thing and stepping forward. "You have been working hard since you arrived here I see"

"It's been a long road since Xia Kou my lord" I replied, looking at him. "But one that I would retread" missing out the capture at Chi Bi. That was probably my darkest hour.

"It is an honour to have you in our ranks" he told me. I felt proud at this, scratching my cheek. But he looked around the arena stands. "It is an honour to have all of you in the Wu army. I feel privileged to be fighting alongside all of you on the field of battle" I feel the same, especially with people like Tong, Gan and Shang Xiang. "We are the strongest force in the land; we are filled with people like Sister and Lord Fu Xi. We will be the one to take the land in the end"

He raised his fist, to which the rest of us did the same, shouting at the same time. It was uplifting to know that the whole of this place felt the same. Quan lowered his fist, looking at me and smiling.

"The reward for Lord Fu Xi… is extra food rations" he told us. This may not seem a lot, but when you're out in the field with not a lot of food ready to supply you, every little bit of food matters. "The rest of you, I implore you to keep training, using these two as an example to guide you all"

I turned to leave after that. I had a feeling that was it, as did everyone else I suppose as most of the stands were clearing out. Me and Shang Xiang left our separate ways, going down the tunnels again, taking our stuff with us and dropping them off in the changing area…or rather rest rooms, but you can call it what you wish. I left my sword in here earlier, so I put that on my back in its sheath

I decided to see what the new, to me, girl was like. I could place a name to a face, but anyone new could be someone like me, Nu or Fei. She could be from the 'modern' days as well. Whoever she else, I hope she's nice.

_I'll admit, while I didn't get a good look, she looked HOT. I'm a guy, I tend to notice things like that that appeal to me. One rule I follow though; personality, not looks. If they are a stuck up c…person then it doesn't matter if they look like the avatar of perfect beauty, I'm not going anywhere near. The vice versa does apply though, so if they are nice, but ugly, then, yeah, it doesn't matter…why am I writing this stuff anyway? I doubt anyone will actually read what 'the great Fu Xi' writes._

_Meh, anyway, if I had known how good that girl was then, I think I would have wanted to meet her sooner…_


	27. the warrior of art

I got another OC for the Shu forces from 'Minako the dragon maiden of DW' so hopefully it'll show up in the next few chapters.

I might swap the POV around to Nu so that you can get an idea of what's going on over there. If I do, it'll be a small thing. Heck, if it gets some good reviews, I might do it more then once.

* * *

Chapter 26: the warrior of art

_Su Zhi…what was it that drew me to her that day? Was it the fact that she was hanging around with some friends of mine? If not, what about the fact that I hadn't heard anything about her, even though we were both at Jing? Maybe it was the clothes or maybe the fact that she and Tong may be an item? Who knows? How many more questions can I get in this little bit of an informative introduction? ANSWERS PEOPLE, ANSWERS (Send them to the palace of Wu at Jiang Dong, China, some 3__rd__ century place)_

I wandered out of the arena, hoping to meet this 'Su Zhi'. Even though I had only seen her, I had hopes that she would be a lovely person…well she had Gan and Tong on her side, it took me ages to get Tong on my side. (Still, I had taken part in the battle that killed his father)

My sword, still in its sheath on my back, felt lighter then before, most likely just me still getting used to the weight change from the wooden sword. still, it had been a long 2 years with it, maybe it was just lighter due to my back being used to it and having stronger muscles to counter it.

I saw loads of people as I walked through the city streets, each one stopping whatever they were doing at the time and bowing to me (Which wasn't a good thing for some of them as they dropped some things as well…a delivery of steel to the black smith for example)

"Hey, Fu!" I heard Gan shout. I stopped, turning towards the origin of his shout to see him, Tong and Lady Su walking towards me. Lady Su had her balls around her neck again.

"Gan, Tong. How are you guys?" I asked them, turning to face them, holding my fist out.

"We're good" Tong told me, Gan punching my hand, followed by the Martial artist. "Amazing match by the way"

"Yeah, I'm amazed how badly Gan did" I taunting, 'poking the bear'.

"It was an off moment" Gan replied, looking annoyed.

"That's what I said when I missed that crossbow target a week ago" To be fair, it was a small target, and I missed it badly. I ended up hitting the sheath of Lord Quan's sword…right on the tip of it.

"Like you did better?"

"I won it for crying out loud"

"If I may interrupt you two" Lady Su started. All three of us turned to looked at her. "Fu Xi right?"

"At your service, Lady Su" I told her. I then gasped as I noticed something on her face…she had two scars, both crossing over her right eyelid. One from the corner of her eyebrow to her nose, the other from her forehead to her cheek. I think she knew I was looking at it.

"Horrible, isn't it?" she asked me.

"Well…all I'm going to say is join the club" I told her, putting my finger on my scar.

"True"

"So how'd you get yours?"

"Some madman a couple of years ago, while the battle of Chi Bi was still going"

"Ouch, that had to hurt"

"She couldn't talk for a few days, so we got her some paper and ink and got her to write down what she wanted to say" Gan told me, smiling. "It was worth it for the silence we got for a few days"

"3…2…1" I said slowly. Gan looked at me confused, then getting elbowed in the stomach by Lady Su. "Perfectly timed"

"You're telling me" he commented, holding his chest.

"Serves you right" Lady Su told him, looking angry and pouting, turning away from Gan.

"Ok, she's strong" I told them, scratching the back of my head. "How is she battle and weapon wise?"

"She's good with her clackers" Tong answered, to which I gave a confused look. "The balls around her neck"

"So that's what they are called" I replied, mentally noting that down.

"And she has a few daggers handy along with some good martial arts skills"

"Wow, I'd hate to be the enemy on the same battlefield as you" I told her, smiling. "It should be fun working with you"

"I hope so to, Tong's told me a lot about your sword skill" Su told me, smiling back.

"Anyway, moving back to other matters" I started, looking around the three of them. "Anyone got an idea where I can get a good spear?"

"Well, yeah, the armoury or a black smith, why?" Gan told and asked me.

"Well, I've been training with a spear as well for a bit, hence the win" I smiled at him cheekily. "And I thought that it would help in the future, with some moves and all"

"So you want to be a showoff basically"

"Bingo"

"Look, whatever you do, just make sure you can survive on the battlefield. You've yet to make through a single battle yet"

"I'll make it through the next one, don't you worry about that"

"Just don't over do it, now I guess we'll see you later at the training room"

"Of course, I've gotta see if these moves of mine will actually work"

I walked away, waving at them as I did so. Now, in the short story of things, I went to see good old Xing Hai, talking to her about business over these few years and about my spear. She pulled one out of her stock and passed it to me.

It was a red shafted weapon; with a silver…I suppose you'd call it a blade, but the point at the end. It had a black fur thing and was quite light, considering its size. It had a little tiger on it, with a wolf behind it along the shaft. She let me have it for free, hoping to drum up business, obviously. Giving the champion a free weapon would kinda draw people in.

Next thing on the list of things to do today: see Shang Xiang in the river/spring area thing. I put the spear into a sheath type thing Xing had given me, putting it on my leg seeing as though my back was taken. Time to see what she was on about.

_Su does seem nice enough. I had a gut feeling, nothing more, that Tong and her were together. And I wonder how Nu and Shinra are getting on. Either way, I thought about some new moves to do with the spear, hoping they would work. And then working with a martial artist on the battlefield must definitely give you some good sights._

* * *

Does anyone object to the plan at the top about swapping POV's for a bit? If you do, tell me. If not…also tell me.

Right, due to being unable to hunt it down from the net or the game itself (Lousy brother) I need to know when the next battle Wu has is, and possibly the First Shu one after Cheng Du is taken. I can't seem to hunt them down, so please…HELP


	28. confessions

Ok, following on with the idea of POV swapping, due to unforeseen events during the course of the year, I can't Ask Sarah to write her chapters, as relations between her and Simon have turned…sour to say the least. As far as I know, this is going o be the last chapter 'written' by Fu, as the POV will change to Nu.

As part of a disclaimer, I only own myself, the story 'beyond' Dynasty warriors, Derrick/Fei Guan and Melissa/ Ma Wengi. I don't own Koei, omega force, Simon/Shinra, Sarah/Nu or Su Zhi (Owned by Lorze the Brookes) or the up and coming OC from Minako the dragon maiden of DW, who has yet to be seen. And thanks to Lorze for the years, I owe you one.

Moving on though

Chapter 27: Confessions

_I've already said I don't want to hurt people by leaving behind strong feelings of friendship, right? Well I was definitely trying to avoid love. What worse then knowing that you'll never see the one you love again?_

Whilst on the way to 'the agreed spot' to talk with Shang Xiang about what she said, I had some ideas about what I could do with the spear. Maybe get a chain on it and use it like that, it would catch some guys off and would be useful for ranged combat, but it would be a pain to use. I got to the woods, my sword on my back and the spear in my hand. My train of thought then changed.

"I wonder if Shang Xiang is going to say what I think she's going to say" I said to myself, getting close to the river spot. "If she does love me, then I guess it would be apparent from the drunken moment" I stopped at the water's edge, looking around to see if I could find Shang Xiang. "But then…I guess my story of my world would sort of scare the people of this age" I dropped my spear, taking my sword off my back and putting that on the ground, then sitting down. "Then again…maybe someone would believe me"

I silenced then, changing the subject in my mind to how to accommodate the spear again. That old long sword I had spare a few years back might come in handy…heck, if I did it right, I could use the great sword for some moves…I could do a few airborne tricks as well.

I heard footsteps heading towards me. Out of instinct I grabbed my spear and stood up quickly, spinning it behind me as I turned around. I wish I hadn't done that when I saw Shang Xiang, looking at me quite confused.

"Shang Xiang?" I asked, surprised she was there. I was expecting some kind of trap or maybe some bandits, not her…even though I should have been. I put my spear down, feeling my face redden from the surprise. "Sorry about that"

"There's no need" she told me, walking over to me. "I can understand why you did that, seeing the day and age we live in"

"Thanks" I sat down, Shang Xiang joining me. "So…what is it you wanted to tell me…or do I already know?"

"That would depend on what you think it is"

"Well what do you think I'm thinking?"

"Well, I think you're thinking that I'm onto what you want me to think but you don't know if I'm thinking about the same thing you're thinking" how many times did I say 'thinking' or 'think' in that sentence? If someone's got time, total it up for me…and have I said that before? I think Shang Xiang was as confused as…well, I am now…what was I on about? Oh yes…right! "Basically, I reckon that you think you love me. But you don't know if I love you" she turned slightly red as I said this. I guess I was right on the dot.

"How did you guess?"

"You said it when you were drunk, and I guess you could tell you said it by the way you asked to see me earlier" I looked at her, changing from my neutral look to a inquisitive look "But that leaves us with two other questions"

"What would they be Fu?"

"One is obvious: do I love you? The other one is not so obvious: did you believe me when I told you my story?"

She looked confused, again, when I said these questions…I could see why as my story was hard to believe, and the fact that I might not love her after all this was another scary thought…I know it's going to be the death of me if I left the answer a blank…not just from Shang Xiang.

"Your story" she started. Please believe my story. "It seems too far out there to believe…" there goes my hope of that. "But there was something about you, Shinra and Nu that seemed…different"

"Different in what way?" I asked back.

"Well…kind of weird"

"Weird in what way?"

"Well, none of you knew anything about the land, you didn't really know how to use what you had effectively, you didn't know how to fight, you didn't do most of the normal things we do…"

"Ok, ok, I get the point" remind me never to ask anyone that question ever again.

"But what you said…it did weirdly make sense"

"I'm probably going to regret asking this, but in what way?"

"Well, before we got to where we are today, something had to exist before us. We have ballista, crossbows, swords, spears and such, but what did we have before, and how did we learn how to make the things we do today?"

"I know what you mean. Where I'm from, I've often wondered how we know how to make the things we do. But what's lucky for us is that we have books on how they were made"

"So you know how they were made?"

"Yeah, just about everything is recorded"

"Well…would you at all know about this war?"

"I don't, but for all I know, I could be from a different world"

"True"

"Anyway, if I may change the subject"

"You may"

"You asked if I loved you" our survey says as I look at her, smiling. "I do…I just never thought about it before" yes the end bit was a lie, but how do you explain to someone you might never see them again when the war is over?

She looked at me and smiled, charging forward from where she was sitting to hug me. Somehow her small lunge was like a rugby tackle, knocking me onto my back. (Thank god our weapons were out of the way) she then held me down, moving so that she was looking me in the eye, her smile a bit less visible this time.

"Is this why you didn't want me to marry Lord Lui Bei?" she asked me. Was that a dumb question or what? That was YEARS ago.

"To be fair, I wasn't" I told her. She then frowned at this. "I was looking out for a friend who I cared for. Wouldn't you have done the same?"

"I would have…but I just thought…" I could see what was coming.

"I thought you were amazing from the second I met you" she blushed at this, then smiled.

"Really?" I nodded, smiling even more. "You did leave an impression on me as well: someone who would do anything to keep his friends safe"

"Damn right I would" I tried to get up, and succeeded. "I would even give my life if needed"

"Let us pray that you don't"

"Good point, but if it does come to that, then I'm ready to"

Me and Shang Xiang looked each other in the eye, the thought of her being my girlfriend did occur to me. Only problem was the moment was ruined by a rustle in the surroundings. Both of us stood up, grabbing our weapons and getting ready for the intruder. I somehow managed to hold my spear in one hand and the sword in the other.

We stood like that for a few seconds before…he arrived. He had a dark green armguard over his right arm, a dragon on his tight leather clothes and a sash trailing from the back of it. His legs had the odd bit of armour on and on his sides were two long sword sheathes, one was gold while the other was silver. He crossed his arms as he saw us, looking bemused. A lot of his fringe covered his eye.

"Not exactly the welcome I was expecting" he told us, sighing. I lowered my spear, realising who it was.

"Shinra?" I asked, letting my sword embed itself in the dirt. He nodded, smiling. "Shinra, buddy" I walked over to him, holding my hand out. "How've you and Nu been doing?"

"Not bad, we've managed to hold our own" he then saw Shang Xiang I think. "My lady"

"Shinra" she melancholically replied. I think we were both annoyed that he had ruined the moment.

"Nu wanted me to tell you that she's doing great by the way"

"That's good to know" I replied. Thank god Sarah's alright. Simon's all right I guess. "Oh yeah. What's this I heard about your arm?"

"I thought she would tell you" he held his armoured arm out, quickly removing the central piece like an expert. The arm looked like it had nearly been severed, a scar running from one side to the other, deep red and…well, deep. "Took about a year to get to where it is now"

"Ouch" was literally all I could say. I looked at his hand, staring at it like a dog staring at a bone. (Not in the wanting sense) Shang Xiang walked forward to look at it as well.

"I hope it heals quickly" she told him. Simon put the plate back on, smiling.

"Hey, it's not hindering me, I know that much"

"And what about Nu?" I asked him. He scratched the back of his head as he thought about this.

"She's got a thigh and leg injury, but nothing too serious"

"I didn't hear about the leg injury"

"She didn't want to worry you in Wu"

"I have to worry about something"

"Anyway, back to why I'm here" he brushed the hair out of his eye. "I hear Lord Sun Quan is still Besieging He Fei"

"He's on the third attempt" Shang Xiang told him.

"Cao Cao is sending reinforcements, so their not going to be much use"

"I guess I should tell Quan to pull them back then"

"That's the best bet…and with that, I have to go"

Simon…Shinra turned to leave, heading back to the Shu territories. I walked forward, keeping alongside him.

"So when are you and Nu coming back?" I asked him, hopeful.

"I don't think we will be" he replied.

"Huh"

"Me and Nu are staying in Shu to fight for Lord Lui Bei"

"But what about our promise?"

"Face it Craig, we may as well do what we think is best"

He disappeared in a cloud of smoke, along with my hopes for a happy reunion at the end of this. I stopped, my plan for us to go home together starting to go wrong. Shang Xiang walked to my side, wrapping her arms around mine.

"Come on, let's go back"

"Shang Xiang…"

"we're going. Besides, we need to get you sorted out for the next battle"

I nodded, grabbing my stuff and leaving with her…

_So now I have a relationship with the sister of Lord Sun Quan. This could be fun, imagine what would happen if I angered her…archery range does need new targets. The thought that Shinra and Nu were staying with a rival kingdom did hit hard. I didn't know at the time, but that would only strengthen my conviction._

I should explain, there were 5 battles of He Fei. The one you get in DW is the fifth and final, where they fail to get by Zhang Liao and leading to Ru Xu Kou. However, He Fei castle doesn't count as another one, so there lies the difference.

And the next chapter starts the switch to Nu, so the POV will be in Shu territory. If it doesn't seem that different, sorry, but I'm doing the best I can.


	29. the kingdom of shu

* * *

Right, I'm going to give this my best shot. Here's Nu/Sarah's POV chapter. If it doesn't seem too different from Fu/my POV, sorry, but I'll do the best I can.

This is just giving the intel on what's going on in the kingdom at the minute.

* * *

Chapter 28:

The kingdom of Shu.

_It's been about 2 years since Shinra and I left Wu for Lui Bei, leaving behind Fu, Gan and Shang Xiang. As soon as Shinra get's back, I'm hoping he'll tell me how they are._

This place is beautiful compared to Wu…and that was beautiful to begin with. At the moment I'm standing on a high ledge looking down at a river that runs through a valley near the city of Cheng Du, my green leather armour fits quite nicely, as do my leggings. My bladed bow, along with a quiver full of arrows, strapped to my back.

Why didn't I leave Wu earlier? I've been having a better time here and this is a better place to be. If I had known about Lord Zhuge Liang serving Lui Bei before, I would have joined up ages ago. I heard a footstep behind me, turning around and seeing Shinra.

"Took you long enough" I said to him, a bit of hair landing on the front of my armour.

"Hey, it took longer then I thought to get by the boarder patrol" he told me, walking over to the ledge. "Why don't you go next time?"

"You're the spy, Shinra, you know all the holes in the kingdoms, you know all the ways in and out without much fuss"

"You've changed"

"You haven't"

"I have actually, I'm better then I was before"

"True"

"Listen, Nu, I know we aren't here to moan to each other about the other"

"Good point" I looked down the river seeing some farmers tending the land. "So how are they doing?"

"Gan's still his normal swashbuckling self, but with Shang Xiang and Fu…" he paused there, looking away from me.

"You can tell me whatever it is Shinra, I've taken worse" when you get a spear in your leg, you tend to think that's worse then emotional pain.

"…I think their a couple" he looked at me, looking quite sorrowful.

"And…" I asked him, not bothered by the news. Shinra looked at me oddly.

"I thought you and him…you know"

"I didn't fancy him" I told him angrily. "When will people get that though their heads?"

"I'm just saying, you two made a great pair…he's insane, you're mental…" I punched Shinra at this, right in the cheek.

"We were never going to be a couple…ALRIGHT!?" I shouted.

"Yes ma'am" he replied, rubbing his cheek. "Did you have to punch me though?"

"Yes"

"Damn" I stood up, turning away from Shinra and starting to walk away.

"Come on, Chen Yin is waiting for us at the palace"

Shinra nodded, and stood up, doing his disappearing act to get to the palace first. I walked as slowly as I could, enjoying the countryside as much as I could. I walked by several farmers as I did so, all of them waving to me as I did so. I waved back, enjoying the sentiments.

In these years following our departure from Wu, Shinra and I have managed to beat Fu's track record of failing to finish even one battle. I made it though the whole of the campaign for Jing Province and the battle of Cheng Du, Shinra had to retreat from the battles for Jing due to his arm injury.

And with Chen Yin, she joined about a month after us…I think she joined back when we had just finished taking Cheng Du. Zhao Yun found her surround by bandits. She tried to fight them off, but couldn't, which is where Zhao saved her. She served under me for a time, but was quickly promoted. She's a nice girl; gentle but tough if you get what I mean. She a quiet yet is always willing to have a nice conversation. She normally wears a 'furisode'…if you don't know what one is, think Yuna in FFX. Moving on, she has a white miniskirt with a green outline with some shorts underneath along with brown shoes. Me and Simon were sneaking around one day (I was interested so that I could sneak around on battle fields and snipe people) and we noticed that she wore silver chest plate underneath the furisode, along with armguards and knee protectors, these made of silver as well. She had a pair of swords chained together at the hilt. (which she lovingly called Dancing Wind…we haven't really seen her using them yet) and a pair of fans which are greenish-blue. (Named Innocent Gentle…she doesn't use these as much as her chain blades) she's just shorter then me, with dark brown (to the point of being near enough black) shoulder length hair, with little braids tied together with emerald flower braids. She also has fair skin and dark brown eyes.

With our little search for 'world travellers', as Fu calls them, we think Chen is one of them, but we don't want to just blurt it out when we don't know for sure, so we haven't said anything. She is a good friend to Lady Yue Ying, Guan Ping and Xing Cai. Now, before we came here, we thought Zhang Fei and Guan Yu were unmarried, but it turns out Fei is and Guan Yu…well, he adopted his sons, as he has more then Ping.

Just before you enter Cheng Du castle, there is a forest of Bamboo trees. I heard something in said forest…sounds like fighting. I could hear the odd clash of steel on steel and a grunt from someone. I ran over to the noise, seeing Xing and Ping fighting each other.

"What the hell are you two doing?" I asked them, getting my bow off my back. They went into a deadlock before looking at me.

"We're training Lady Nu" Ping told me, smiling as he broke off.

"Lord Guan Ping and I have our father's legacy to think of" Xing continued, spinning her fork in her hand. "You can join us if you wish"

"Sorry but I can't, I've got to go and check on Chen and see what's going on" I was being honest at least. "Maybe next time"

"Ok then" they went back to their fight, Ping bringing his sword down on Xing's Shield. I'm surprised they haven't hurt each other yet. I put my bow back on my back, walking towards Cheng Du.

I did find myself thinking about Fu. I know he missed me quite a bit, but I didn't want to go back. Quan's dream of three kingdoms was ridiculous. It couldn't be maintained. But with Fu's idea of us going home…we need to make sure the right kingdom wins so that our world or time or whatever doesn't change. I just hope Chen has some good new.

_Just believe in me and then you'll see results_

_Fu was always optimistic when it came to believe. He used to think that if you believed in him, he could pull any thing off. To give him credit, he does brilliant work when you do believe in him, but then he does good work when you don't…man, why can't I stop thinking about him._

* * *

There's the groundwork chapter done. Was it any good? It felt…weird to be writing from her POV…even weirder after so long not working on this story.

Sorry for the lack of updates, I've had a lot of work to do.


	30. small talk

In family guy style: I brought this gift for you it's on the page (I know that's not the exact quote)

Chapter 29:

Small talk.

_What I don't get is that we made up after that day, so why keep apologising?_

"Lady Nu Wa!" I heard someone behind me shout, followed by several horse hooves hitting the ground, thundering to a slow walk next to me. It was the newest officer of Shu…Ma Chao.

"Yes lord Ma Chao" I replied, looking up at him in his golden armour, his silver spear in his hand.

"I must apologise for my actions during our battle" he told me, jumping off his horse and doing that hand thing. "If it were not for my spear…"

"Ma Chao, you can barely notice the injury" I told him, lifting up my right leg. "See" he looked at me, bemused.

"The injury was on your left leg" he told me, looking even more bemused. I laughed a bit to try and make him think I forgot.

"See, that's how much I don't notice it, I forgot where it was" I lied, swapping feet. "Now do you see"

He grabbed my leg, holding it up while he took the front of the plate off. Underneath was a bandage with a red mark on it. I hadn't realised it at the time, but my wound had bled at some point during the day.

"Lady Nu Wa, you need to rest this wound" he told me, acting like a teacher back home. "If you don't rest, you could get an illness and be forced from the front lines"

"I'm ok" I told him, grabbing the leg plate and putting it back on. "I don't need to rest it; I need to get on with duties"

"May I interrupt?" we heard an almost quiet voice ask.

Both me and Ma Chao turned our heads towards it, seeing Lord Zhuge Liang and his apprentice, Chen Yin. She was wearing her normal clothing, and had her weapons on her, along with a pipa. The two of us bowed our heads and did that hand thing.

"Lord Strategist" we both said at the same time. He walked over to us, fanning himself with his white feathered fan, Chen Yin following.

"What were you two arguing about?" he asked. Well, it wasn't really an argument but…

"A wound on Lady Nu Wa's leg from the battle of Cheng Du that hasn't healed yet" Ma Chao told him, raising his head and arms to a normal standing position. I followed suit.

"It's healed enough my lord" I protested.

"Let me have a look at it" Chen spoke. I took the plate off quickly, balancing on one foot with my leg hold up. Chen stepped forward to inspect it.

"Let me guess: you've been training her to be a medic" I said to Zhuge. He simply nodded, showing no emotion. "Great"

"It looks a bit…fresh" She commented, getting a few bandages out. "I suggest you don't put too much stress on this leg for a while" she quickly wrapped my leg up with a bandage, putting the plate back on as well. "Would you agree master?"

"Absolutely my apprentice" Zhuge told her, wandering around her.

"If I may ask, you know Chen is your apprentice lord Liang?" I asked, he simply nodded. "Well, does that mean she'll take over for some battles?"

"I'm afraid not unless I give permission and am on the battle field to aid her" so not many time to prove her worth then.

"Lord Ma Chao, could you aid Lady Nu Wa in her duties?" Chen asked him, Ma Chao nodding.

"Of course" he told her, looking at me. "Where is Shinra today anyway?"

"I asked him to do me a job in the territories to the south" I lied. I didn't want them to think he was a double agent or whatever.

"And what does he have to report?"

"He'll bring the report in when it's ready" I lied…well, half lied. He was quickly going to spy on them for this lie and tell us why they were raiding our territories.

* * *

_A day ago, just after Shinra left the company of Shang Xiang and Fu Xi_

* * *

_The ninja/spy walked through the forests, keeping an eye out for border patrols and officers and things like that. One mess up meant your life…_

"_You really need to focus more on the task at hand, Shinra" he heard someone comment, feeling the blunt end of something hit his back._

"_Lu Meng…I was wondering if you'd be around" he replied, drawing his swords and turning to face the warrior tactician. "Let me go or face my blades"_

"_I'm not here to fight you, lord Shinra" Lu Meng embedded the end of his pike in the ground, reaching into his armour and pulling out 5 letters. "From Gan, Fu, Tong and Shang Xiang. 2 from Fu to each of you"_

"_Why couldn't they give me these themselves?" the ninja took the letters, putting them into a pouch._

"_Too busy schedules on both sides I'm afraid… old friend" Lu Meng grabbed his halberd again, holding his hand out towards the spy._

"_It's been a while since the Wu territory battles, Lu Meng"Shinra replied, shaking his head. "Too long to restart the friendship at this point"_

"_Just promise me something" Lu Meng moved so he was standing in front of Shinra. "Make sure the pair of you stay safe"_

"_We will, Lu Meng. We have to man…now go before they get suspicious of you" Shinra walked past Lu Meng, stopping once to turn to his old friend. "Besides, me and Nu are officers, we need to be in danger to win"_

_Shinra then walked away, leaving Lu Meng behind to deal with whatever trouble may come from the patrols for letting a spy go._

* * *

_For some reason, I can see my wound plaguing me for a while. I don't mind it, I just have to limp sometimes._

_I just hope Fu doesn't see me with it. I know he would worry about me and...well, I don't want him to._

_and as for Chao, well...he still doesn't take my words of forgiveness for some reason_

* * *

I couldn't think of much, alright. The italiced bit with Shinra is just a little side outing to take up space…besides; it's going to be useful later.


	31. Nearly time again

Back to Fu

Can I just say I know these aren't exact deployments for the battle, but still…

Chapter 30:

Nearly time again

_A while after I last saw Shinra, I received a summons to a war council. I was surprised, to say the least. I had never been to one so didn't know what to wear and procedure and so on…_

_Not even where it was_

With Shang Xiang's help (She was summoned as well…and we had been talking about the future) I got to the council (It was in the main throne room), seeing Quan sat at the top of a table, Meng, Tong and Gan at over seats around said table and two more chairs for us. We both sat down quickly, both wearing our normal attire, also leaving our weapons back in our rooms. The atmosphere was serious, and tense

"Sorry we're late" I told them, doing the respectful hand thing, and then relaxing on my chair with my hands behind my head. "I didn't know where the council was being held"

"Sure you two weren't 'enjoying each others company'?" Gan asked, insinuating that we had 'fun'.

"Lord Gan Ning, you can't really talk" Shang Xiang Countered, smiling. "Who was it that you were with last night?" I saw her eyebrow rise. Gan looked flustered.

"Wh-who do you mean?" he stammered.

"Oh, has Shang Xiang hit a soft spot, Gan?" I asked him, giving an evil smirk. "Who's the lucky lady?"

"Wh-what's it to you…I-I mean no one" big slip up there Gan.

"That letter on your table from a 'Xing Hai', is that who it is?" Tong chimed in. I looked at Lu Meng, seeing his arms crossed, looking serious. Quan was a little more relaxed then him, laughing a bit, quietly.

"Xing Hai? You mean the blacksmith in the city?" I asked, turning to Gan.

"Yes…I mean no" even bigger slip up there, buddy.

"Do you want her to 'work on your weapon' Gan?"

"Knock it off Fu" he told me. We all just laughed at him, stopping after a while and turning to Quan.

"Now then…we have had a request from Shu to attack He Fei" I watched him stand up, pointing to the map on the table, to the castle on the border between us and Wei. "Lu Meng, any plans?"

"Yes my lord" Lu Meng stood up as Quan sat down. The new strategist got out a smaller map, showing He Fei and the area around…at least on our side. "The enemy units are here"

He got out a few small red wooden figures, representing enemy units. He put them down, placing them in front of the gates leading into our lands. Three units in all. Not much. Why do I get the feeling there's more to this then that?

"The enemy units are led by Zhang Liao" he announced. I leaned into the meeting.

"Zhang Liao? You mean the guy who attacked Zhuge Liang's position at Chi Bi?" I asked.

"Yes. I know you engaged him and won"

"It was a close run thing" I admitted, leaning back again. "It'll be good to see what he's like this time round"

"Well, this is how we are moving" Lu Meng continued, getting some more figures, this time blue, out. One of them held a flag with Wu's symbol on (I presume Quan's unit). He placed them around the southeast of the castle, in a plain near the river, at a bridge crossing.

"Gan Ning, you are going to lead a naval unit to the east of the castle, behind their defences, and launch a sneak attack" Meng told him, looking at Gan.

"Right. You got it" Gan told him, looking excited.

"Ling Tong, you will take the northern route and take as many bases as you can on the way"

"Ok, I'll get on it" Tong answered, leaning forward.

"If she is able, be sure to bring Su Zhi along" ah, so she is deploying.

"Thank you"

"Shang Xiang, Fu Xi, take the southern route, doing the same thing as Ling Tong"

"Very well" I told him, smiling.

"We'll have it done before you know it" Shang Xiang echoed. We both looked at each other and smiling.

"I shall take the central route, crossing through the village and taking the enemy head on" he finally moved the pieces to show our movements. "My lord" he turned to Sun Quan. "In my plan, you and Zhou Tai stay back and only move out to reinforce our men if needed. Is that acceptable?"

"It is, Lu Meng. I'll follow whatever plans are made" Quan answered.

"Any reports from our scouts?" Gan asked, scratching his head. "As in, beyond Zhang Liao"

"We couldn't identify the other two officers, but we know the enemy is not prepared for our assault" Lui Bei must be busy then. "Their defences are spread thinly, and the castle is still under construction" he stood up, pointing to another point on the map of China. "Last we knew, Guan Yu was causing Wei some trouble in Jing…"

"Which has distracted Cao Cao then, leaving us an opportunity to take his land from him" I interrupted. Everyone turned to me as I said this.

"Good Insight. However, Cao Cao and his troops are not going to be too far away, so Reinforcements will not be too far away"

"We move out at Dawn in 3 days…Our Spies…" I presume Shinra's been busy as well, even though he works for Shu. "Have informed us that he will be too busy in Chang An to send any aid to He Fei in this time"

"My lord, if I may…" I spoke, raising my hand.

"You may" Quan told me. I stood up, leaning on the table over the map.

"Wouldn't it be easier for us to strike tomorrow, or even the day after?" I asked, looking at the map more then Quan. "If Cao Cao is busy in Chang An, then surely an early strike before he has any chance to send reinforcements is better then a late strike where reinforcements are a possibility"

"I understand you point, Fu Xi" Quan told me, I turned to look at him, seeing him quite pleased. "But considering the recent recruitments, the training of them will have finished by then, meaning more troops available for us to deploy"

"I see. Sorry for the interruption" I sat back down.

"Don't worry, it was a valid question"

I exhaled quietly after this. Somehow, while seeing a flaw in the plan, I made myself look like an idiot. Either that or I had brought up a valid point, like Quan said, and made myself look good. I was hoping option two, but chances are it was option one.

"Be ready to move out in three days" Quan told us, standing up. "You are dismissed. Fu, can I talk to you?"

Everyone stood up, including me, and started to leave, not including me. Gan and Tong walked out with a thumbs up, Meng just walked by, patting me on the shoulder, and Shang Xiang…well:

"I'm in trouble aren't I" I told her, sighing.

"Just relax, Fu" she told, giving me a quick kiss. "We'll meet you at the training hall"

"We?"

"Oh yeah, I arranged to meet up with Tong and Su"

"Oh, should be fun"

"Do you want any weapons reserving?"

"Well, a long sword and…well, you know that weapon I had an idea for?" You'll see.

"Yeah"

"Can you get that set up for me?"

"Sure, just don't break it" she gave me another kiss, this one on the lips so I could return it. "See you there"

She ran out of the room, leaving me and Quan in their alone. I turned slowly to face him, images of him drawing his sword and cutting my head clean off along with Zhou Tai doing the same in a different routine were n my mind.

"Three things I would like to say to you" he started, pacing around me. "First off, the behaviour you have shown at the start of the council is unacceptable!"

This isn't being rude, my lord, but couldn't lightening the mood and atmosphere help us out here?" I argued. Quan stopped and faced me.

"That is no excuse!"

"So trying to help people relax is not helpful to our cause!"

"No!"

"Why not?!"

"If we relax, we don't think about everything that can happen in battle"

"Well relaxing sure helps me think"

"It doesn't for everyone"

Ok, at this point, I think we both calmed down with point one…I hate to see how bad point two and point three are.

"Just…remember that"

"I will, but people need to relax every so often"

"Moving on. I thought it was wise of you to notice our judgement over Cao Cao"

"You mean the choice of going to battle when he has a chance of being free?" he nodded. "I thought it was obvious myself, surprised Lu Meng didn't notice"

"He did, it was my choice to battle when we do"

"Well, after hearing the reason, it does make sense"

"Glad to hear it, and would you feel like being a tactician or strategist in future?"

"Well…not at the minute, but I am young, could happen someday"

"Well, at the moment, you're the next strategist after Lu Xun"

"I'm not much younger then him…so I doubt I'll take over before I'm old"

"But at least we have a pool of spare strategists at the ready"

"A pool of…two?"

"Exactly"

"Ok, now moving onto the third point…"

"You and Shang Xiang…"

"Oh God" not the best thing to say given my position

"Are you two serious about being a couple?"

"Well…I'd say yes…but then it is up to Shang Xiang on that"

There was a long pause between this and what he said next. He paced towards the door, signalling me to follow. We walked around the castle, walking past several soldiers, palace workers, civilians and so on. After a good while (And I mean a good while as in a long time) we eventually came to a Japanese garden-style garden (What else can I say?) full of peach trees, blossoms falling off them in this brilliant weather.

"Shang Xiang talked to me about you two the day before last" he finally spoke. I wasn't really surprised, they are family after all.

"What did she say?" I asked, probably a dumb question given the circumstances.

"She feels like she could spend her life with you…if you would do the same"

"Ah…I was wondering if she would feel like that"

"Well…what do you say?"

"I would happily spend the rest of my days with her as my bride"

"Then…" he stepped forward, putting his hand on my shoulder. "I give you my blessing"

"Huh?" I thought it would be something like 'you're not right for my sister'.

"Is something wrong with that?"

"No, my lord, I was just taken aback by getting your blessing so soon" and easily might I mentally add.

"If you keep this a secret from Sister, I'll organise the ceremony for you both"

"Really?"

"It's the least I can do to make Sister happy"

"You're a great man Quan" I returned his gesture, doing the same to his shoulder. "I'll do my best to make you proud as a brother and Shang Xiang happy as a wife"

"You had better do"

We both took our hands off the others shoulder, smiling to each other. He looked at me as if something was in his eye. For some reason, I thought he was remembering something…and guess what:

"I don't know why Fu, but you remind me of Brother" he announced, oddly.

"Brother?" he nodded. I thought about who he meant. "You mean Sun Ce?"

"Yes" he started pacing between the blossoms, reminiscing. "He was always upbeat, looking out for his friends, allies and family. Nothing really got him down except something going extremely wrong"

"I don't think that sounds like me"

"It does…he was also a good leader and fighter"

"So far I'm not a good fighter"

"You are, just unlucky so far. But he and you differ in the way that he didn't always think about what he did and enjoyed fighting. You on the other hand…"

"Don't enjoy fighting and have to think about everything I do"

"Precisely"

"I think it's bad if you enjoy fighting"

"Yet again, differing from Brother"

"I just hope you two don't see me as a means to fill the hole your brother left after his death"

"I certainly don't, and neither does she"

"I better not be" I looked around, seeing no one around. "My lord, I mean no disrespect, but can I ask one last question before I go?"

"Certainly"

"Can I call you Brother after I wed Shang Xiang?"

"I thought you'd never ask…just don't expect any special treatment"

"I didn't, I expected to work harder" I did the hand thing, starting to walk away. "Anyway, I better get going, I've got to meet the guys at the training hall"

"Very well. And remember our chat"

"I will"

I ran off towards the training hall, hoping Shang Xiang had gotten my new toy set up.

_I couldn't wait to try out my new weapon. Heck, if it wasn't for past exploits, I might never have thought about it._

_And as for Quan seeing me like his brother…I didn't really see it…but then I didn't know who Sun Ce was or what he was like._

_I didn't want to say it, but I saw Quan as my brother back home…just better behaved and more independent._

_Shang Xiang is like the sister I never had…and the love I'll probably break the heart of and have my heart broken when I leave…so much for me not wanting to fall in love with anyone while I'm here._

Ok, I'll be honest; this chapter was made when I had a little idea as to why Quan might like Fu. And why Shang Xiang likes Fu as well.

If they see their dead brother in Fu, then it brings up the question of if Shang Xiang loves Fu due to that or due to him being him.

Anyway, the new toy is unveiled next chapter, along with some revelations…*tense music here* too dramatic Maestro *Mystery theme here* better.


	32. That damn bet

I'm back, and after working on another fic for a bit, I can safely say that, until that one is done…at least the bit it is on, I'm slowing the writing of this. (if I may, 30 chapters along and halfway into the war…gonna be big)

Anyway, the new 'toy'…

Chapter 31:

That damn bet

_I grabbed my old sword out of my room…you know, the one I lent Zhuge Liang at Chi Bi. Still can't believe I've never used it since. It hasn't rusted at all, amazingly._

_What ever Xing Hai uses, I need to take some back to show 'geniuses' back home._

_Now someone explain why I made that stupid bet._

* * *

I opened the door to the training hall…which, in our many years of use, had been upgraded to be more like a training field. I was glad, more space…less areas to break things in. (I don't think Quan was happy about the floor panel I broke when I went training crazy for the tournament)

The first thing I saw was Su and Tong going all out against each other…their idea of training I guess. Gan was on the sidelines, keeping silent. ( I saw a round bruise on his cheek, so I presume Su hit him for some reason) the training weapons they were using had been (thankfully) Lightened, dulled and everything else to make it so injuries weren't permanent. The reason I said thankfully is that these two would probably kill each other the rate they were going at. Tong would swing his Nunchuks around and Su would either dodge or block, following up with a counter with her clackers. He would then try to dodge/block and counter and this would continue. I watched as Tong dodged a rather nasty headshot and counter with an attempted leg hit. Su just jumped it, doing some…martial art kick…I don't know all right, just that Tong dodged by a whisker.

"There you are" I heard Shang Xiang say. I turned away from the brawl to see her holding a pair of spears, one wooden, the other steel. "I was wondering what had kept you"

"Oh, just a friendly chat with Quan over my actions in the counsel" leave it there. "Nothing bad…but can I presume…"

"It's here" she told me, throwing me a wooden spear and putting the steel one down. "Xing wanted to bring this one especially, but she has a massive order due"

"You went into the city to get this?" I asked.

"I'm a woman you know"

"That wasn't rude, that was surprise, I didn't think you'd go that far out of the way for it"

"It was nothing really"

"What are you two yammering on about?" I heard Gan ask, turning and seeing him standing next to me.

"Just a new weapon of mine" I told him.

"Here you go" Shang Xiang told me, pulling out a gauntlet and throwing it to me. Gan looked at it, mystified.

"That's it? A gauntlet?"

"Not just any old gauntlet my friend" I grabbed the wooden spear after putting the black metal 'glove' on my left hand, feeling my fingers (not thumb, that was covered) go through the end and quite constricted.

I put the spear on the outside of the gauntlet, as per ordered. Somehow, a chain sneaked out of my gauntlet and wrapped itself around the spear end, then somehow linking in a hole at the end. I held the hand and spear up, smiling.

"I may have to cut the size down" I told him, realising that the spear was too long for my arm, and would hurt others if I accidentally poked them. "But it's worth it"

"All that for that" he commented, sceptically.

"Watch"

I walked over to the firing line used for archery practise and, newly set up might I add, Javelin throwing, clenching my fist tightly as I held my arm up, aiming the spear at the target. When I said about this idea to Xing, she told me how it would work…and it was so amazingly complex that I'm not going to try and explain it. Just know that when I throw my arm forward, it throws the spear like a javelin.

So I did, I threw the spear, the missile dragging the chain along with it. It flew true to my throw, flying true towards a javelin target. Just before it hit the target, the back started dropping, pushing the point up and making it hit on around the outside. I turned around, seeing Shang Xiang and Gan look amazed. I smiled

"And the best is yet to come" I told them, yanking the chain back. Sure enough it flew back as quick, if not quicker, then it flew out, coming back and replacing itself to how it was.

"And you came up with this idea by yourself?" Gan asked.

"No, I had input from Shang Xiang and Xing Hai" I told him, honestly.

"Either way, it's impressive" I felt the spear lock back in, hitting the back of my elbow.

"Just remind me to cut these things to a smaller size before I use them" I nursed my elbow while saying this. "And, in a smaller way, we had help from Pang Tong"

"You mean the guy who died at Chang Du"

"Yeah, he left some…metal at Xing's place which was very adaptable and magical. Everything she made was high quality and…well, as you've seen with the chain just now"

"Nice" he told me, looking over to Su and Ling again. "Their still at it"

"Any bets on who wins?" Shang Xiang asked, turning to them.

"10 gold on Su and I'll fight her afterwards" I told Gan, he looked at me and smiled.

"Done" Gan replied

"Are you two seriously betting on this?" Shang Xiang asked. We looked at each, shrugged, then turned to her.

"Yes" we both said at the same time. Shang Xiang held her head in her hand as she heard this.

Next thing we knew after this, Tong had gone flying into the armour rack behind him, with Su running over to him and kneeling next to him. We all followed, Gan looking pissed as he realised he lost the bet. I just smiled, then tried my best to look serious as he got next to them.

"You ok, Tong?" Shang Xiang asked, as Su looked at him.

"That…was painful" he commented, getting up slowly with Su's help. "How did you get me?"

"Simple, you missed and I capitalised on it, using a butterfly kick" she smugly replied. Tong stopped using her as a balance, standing on his own with a hand on his back.

"You going to be ok mate?" I asked him. Tong just held his hand out.

"It'll heal" he told us, taking his hand off his back. "But I'm going to have to stop there I'm afraid"

"After that I'm not surprised"

"Hey, Fu, you remember our bet right?" Gan asked. I turned to him giving him a 'you little git' look.

"Yeah…I remember" I told him, looking at Su. "Fancy giving me a fight, seeing as though you weren't at the tournament?"

"Sure" she told me…she seemed ready for that question.

"Well, let me grab a sword and I'll be with you"

I stood up, running over to the weapon rack and grabbing a sword from it, holding it in my right hand tightly. This would be a good chance to properly test this out. if it doesn't go well, then I can just use my Great sword…which reminds me.

"Do you guys name your weapons?" I asked randomly, walking back to the group.

"Well, yeah" Gan answered, getting his sword out. "River master"

"Sol Chakam" Shang Xiang told me.

"Rising Phoenix" Tong continued

"I don't name them" Su finished.

"Oh…well…interesting" I replied, trying to think…of not much.

I stood opposite Su, getting into a stance with the spear behind the sword…probably a bad stance considering my spear hands more armoured. Su held her clackers in her hands, spinning them around. The other 3 ran out of the way, knowing the consequences of what may happen if caught in the way.

Su made the first move, trying to hit me with one of the clackers. I slammed it with the blunt end of the spear, spinning round to try and hit her with my sword. She dodged to the left, getting a small wooden dagger from somewhere and trying to 'stab' me with it. I jumped back, taking the spear off her clacker and throwing it at her.

She dodged to the right, jumping whilst kicking the missile away. I turned to face her as she started to run towards me, yanking my spear back. She raised her foot up, trying to kick my head. I brought the sword up to block, the pair colliding. I felt the spear go back into place, smiling.

"Big mistake" I told her, stepping to my right whilst moving the sword so her foot hit the floor. I then tried to 'stab' her with my spear. She threw a clacker in the way, throwing the other at chest height. I moved the sword in the way of the second clacker.

"Really?" she asked in response. I pushed off her, stepping back with my spear held forward.

"You're good, I'll give you that" I told her.

"I've had a lot of practise" she replied…well, with the stories I'd heard, she's rightly could hold that claim.

"So tell me, how did I miss you, and you miss me and Nu at Jing?"

"I guess we just weren't paying too much attention back then"

"True" at this point we were circling each other, stepping to our right.

"Are we going to keep talking or actually get fighting" I could see in her eyes that it must pain her.

"Fair enough" I replied, swapping so my sword was forward and my spear back. I flexed my fingers in my free hand (well it wasn't holding anything) feeling the metal on the gauntlet against my flesh.

I charged back in, to which Su smiled. I flipped around so I had momentum with the spear. I swung it down, hoping to hit her. She punched the spear out of the way and tried to keep the assault going, rearing up a roundhouse kick. I quickly ducked, feeling the foot go over some hairs, and then backed up quickly. She landed, looking ready for more.

Gan, I'm going to kill you after this…but then I did make that bet with him. Sigh. I went back in, swinging the sword at her diagonally, across the chest. She did a back flip somehow, dodging the sword (which hit the ground with a dull thunk) then charging back in.

"Your mine!" she shouted, running back in. shit, if I don't move… I stood up, finding myself under a flurry of punches, kicks and unknown martial arts moves. I somehow managed to block them with my sword and spear, even doing a little trick where a turned around and blocked one with my spear on my back.

I jumped forward, rolling on the ground and turning around quickly, throwing the spear between her legs. She didn't seem to pay any attention to that. I ran around to the right, yanking the spear back…and then I found myself trapped.

"Nice try" she told me, stepping on the chain, then I got yanked towards the spear, flying along the ground at a fast pace.

"OH GOD!" I shouted…probably shouldn't have done but who cares?

In a moment of desperation, the gauntlet came flying off, leaving me 10 feet away from Su. She took her foot off the chain, running towards me. I flipped the sword in my hand so the blade ran along my arm. I held it up just as Su's daggers neared my arm.

"Close call" I commented, forcing her weapons back and backing up. I circled her again, heading towards my spear and gauntlet…well, more my gauntlet as the spear would come back of its own accord. She saw what I was doing, running towards the spear to block me.

We were both level in distance in relation to it, and I knew she had reach with that clacker pair of hers. I did a desperately brave (or desperately stupid…or just desperate) move…jumping towards the weapon and grabbing the gauntlet. I rolled after hitting the ground, hearing Su hit where I just was.

"Phew, close call" I commented, putting the gauntlet on and yanking the spear back. It didn't go according to plan as…well…Su seems to have been standing on it. I felt myself getting yanked towards the spear again and dragged along the floor…next thing I knew…well, a lot of pain followed by Black…lots and lots of black…No pain though.

When I wasn't seeing the blackness, I found I was in the medical wing of the palace, with Gan, Shang Xiang, Tong and Su around my bed. The pain in my head gone and no weapons…thank heavens.

"He's woken…lazy sod" Gan told the others, then getting elbowed by Shang Xiang.

"What…What happened?" I asked getting up slowly. Su looked away at that moment.

"I kinda went too far during that match and…well…knocked you out" she explained.

"Well, he doesn't look any uglier" Gan joked, getting elbowed by Shang Xiang again.

"True, but then he doesn't look any better" Tong joked as well, getting elbowed by Su.

"Remind me never to follow my bets to the letter" I told Gan.

"Bet?" Su asked, looking at me.

"I had a bet with Gan, 25 gold that you'd win and I'd even fight you"

"Was it worth the 25 gold?" Tong asked, putting his arms around Su.

"Definitely. It was…fun if painful" I laughed a bit, smiling. "Besides, I got to try my new weapon"

"And an interesting weapon at that"

"Thanks for the practical experience Su"

"Anytime…just be careful when fighting me" she told me, smiling.

"No harm no foul"

"We'll leave you alone" Shang Xiang told me, looking at Gan and Tong. "He needs to rest for He Fei"

"Aye, that's gonna be fun" I told them, relaxing. "I'll be out tomorrow, watch me"

"Erm, Tong, do you mind if I follow after a bit? I need to talk to Fu about something" Su asked, looking at her boyfriend.

"I don't mind, just don't be too late" he told her, giving her a kiss before he left with the other two.

She grabbed a chair, dragging it over so she could sit down next to me. She didn't really look at me. I sat up and looked at her, my curiosity peaked.

"Shang Xiang told me something…interesting" she started…I can see where this is going.

"You mean my memories?" I asked.

"I need to know…do you tell the truth?"

"Why would I lie about something so important?"

"Well…if what I've heard from her is true. You're not from this place"

"Which is true. I'm from England…and in fact I guess a few thousand years in the future"

"England?"

"Yeah…probably doesn't make any sense to you…"

"I'm from England as well"

"Huh?" she looked at me, deadly serious.

"We're from the same country and time"

"WHAT!?"

"Laura…what about you?"

"Craig"

"Nice to meet you"

"You too"

* * *

_I didn't see that one coming…but at least I'm not alone anymore._

_The warrior of art, Su Zhi, was from my own country and time and called Laura. HURRAY._

_So what's the count now…two each?_

* * *

To those of you who think the spear chain wouldn't work, I have 2 words for you: Dian Wei. His SSST attack throws the axe and it returns…and who's to say magic metals didn't exist?

Anyway…Lorze, sorry if Su/Laura is OOC. I didn't really get how she would have said it so I've done my best with what I knew…if I'm wrong, tell me how wrong I am and I'll rewrite this.

And 'Character Resumes' (yes we're getting posh here) are still being accepted.

Next chapter…I don't know how I'll move. Either Nu and the kingdom of Shu again with some training or fight or Fu talking with Su about how she came to the three kingdoms (still going to be using Chinese names when they are speaking though…unless it adds drama (so probably never)


	33. A story yet untold

*Fanfare* hello. Back once more.

And here's the next chapter…Fu's POV (to those of you who wanted Shu, sorry)

* * *

Chapter 32:

A story yet untold

_I got out of the hospital wing the day after my injury. Amazingly quick for someone of my…brain power (meant to be a joke)_

_Now for some answers._

I wandered through the palace, passing several soldiers and…I guess you'd call them minor officers…well, lieutenants. We mostly ignored each other. I had my sword on my back, the gauntlet and spear strapped to my arm, my arm keeping it behind me. (You don't want to poke people with this thing)

According to some soldiers, Su was relaxing in some woods nearby…not the 'usual spot' but close…her spot is near the sea. Must be nice, being able to relax on a beach sometimes…I for one didn't know China had a beach but I guess so.

Now, if you're wondering why I'm looking for her, after she confessed yesterday as to whom she was (as in being from England as well) we arranged to meet up today and chat…I'm mainly interested as to why we didn't meet and, more importantly, how she got here in the first place. I'd hoped it'd be a normal day before then…well, as normal as possible considering where we are…compared to where I used to be.

I got to the stables, seeing hell runner set up for riding. The stableboy ran up to me, bowing.

"My lord, your horse is saddled and ready" he told me, smiling. I stopped and looked at him, smiling.

"Thank you for going to the trouble of doing that, but I'm not going to be riding him today" I told him. He continued smiling as I walked out. "Couldn't hurt to get a bit of exercise walking"

That was probably the biggest mistake I made, as it was a lot further to the beach then I thought it was…heck, you know the maps…you have, imagine going from Lincolnshire to London…quite far, now double that to Scotland to London…that's near to the distance I had chosen to walk without realising it.

Lucky (thank however blessed me for this) some farmers just so happened to be headed that way. This was just outside Jian Ye. Now, I can claim to never have had ridden in the back of a trailer…so may as well give it a go. I asked if I could have a lift to Wu (the territory) and they obliged, letting me relax on the hay.

It was quite relaxing actually, the countryside passing at a snail's pace…well, I should say horse's pace but you get what I mean. The sun shone high above me and the group. I watched trees, farmers…everything pass by. You know…if I don't get back, I'd be happy to live here. Life seems so much simpler and…peaceful. And I could get used to life as an officer.

"My lord" One of the people said. I sat up, seeing it was a little boy.

"Yes" I replied, crossing my legs.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead"

"Well, I was wondering how you got so big and strong?" his voice sounded so sweet and innocent.

"Eating my veg, my meat and doing plenty of training" Ok I lie, I got the body in some 'super duper time warp magic ritual involving Zuo Ci' but how do you say that to a young kid? "Why do you ask?"

"I want to fight for Wu one day" he replied, almost excited. "To fight off the soldiers of the tyrant Cao Cao and the traitor Lui Bei"

"Life is never as simple as that you know" I told him, jumping out and smiling. "It's dangerous and scary on the frontline"

"I know…but I was wondering if you could…you know…"

"No" he looked at me and winked…oh. "You want to know if I'd be willing to train you or put in a good word with Sun Quan?"

"Yeah, my lord"

"How old are you?"

"I'm 10 this winter"

"Well, I'm 20 in winter as well…I think…maybe 6 years, then think about joining up"

"Couldn't you train me, my lord?"

"You want to be trained by me?" he nodded. "You get all the training you need in practise and drills"

"But I don't want to be someone who is part of a crowd" he turned to the cart, doing some punches. "I want to be an individual…to do my own thing"

"An Officer?"

"Yes, my lord"

"So, you want me to train you to be good in combat and an officer?"

"If you could my lord?"

I looked away from the boy, looking at the cargo whilst I thought. If I did train him, it'd take time out of my schedule and I don't think anyone would know were I am unless I told them…and I'm not a very good teacher. But then again, teachers sometimes learn from their students…

"I'll tell you what" I started, looking at him. "Where do you live?"

"Just south of Jian Ye my lord" he told me. I smiled as he said this.

"Ok, one day a month, I'll come down and practise with you if I'm not too busy" I told him, thinking a bit more. "If they wanted to, I could bring others and see what they think"

"You mean it my lord?" I nodded. The boy seemed to explode with excitement at this, shouting with glee and running towards the lady of the cart. "Mother! Mother! Lord Fu Xi says he'll train me to be a warrior!" the woman turned, looking at me.

"Really?" she replied, slowing down. "Excuse me, Si"

She stopped whilst she matched my level, walking again so she was next to me. I looked at her, seeing an emotionless face. She looked at me.

"Is what he said true?" she asked. I nodded. "So he really does want to follow in his father's footsteps"

"You'll have to excuse me, my lady, but I was hoping to help out a bit" I told her, bowing. "Excuse me if I overstepped the mark"

"No, it's alright…I just don't want to see him go the same way his father did"

"Excuse me?"

"His father was Taishi Ci, an officer of Wu when Sun Ce ruled" she turned to me, nearly crying. "He died not long after he was born"

"I'm sorry for your loss"

"It's not that…the pain passed…but if my boy were to die as well…I think my whole world would shatter"

"Well, My lady, I'll make sure he stays safe"

"Please…if he joins, promise me you'll always bring him back alive"

"I will…What's the boy's name by the by?"

"Si Ci" not a very inventive name is it?

"Well, tell Si Ci that if he's in my unit he'll be expected to work" I smile as I say this, which she does as well.

"Thank you my lord" I nod, then hear a gull cry…the ocean waves…My stop.

"I've gotta go, I'll see you when I come to train him, alright?"

"Yes Lord Fu"

I ran off, waving to the pair as I headed to the beach. Sun, sea, sand…possibly ships. YAY!...no, dreams ruined, it's just an outlet for the Chang Jiang. Damn. Still, sand and sun, along with sea…fair enough. I see Su watching the river intently, as if waiting.

"You were here all day?" I asked her. She nodded without turning.

"Better to wait here for you and get my head straight then get here and tell you when I don't understand myself" she explained…why not just say 'yes'?

"So, what was your story then?" I sat down next to the river, Su joining me, putting her feet in.

"It's…hard to explain" I clear my throat. "Then again, we've all gone through it"

"Exactly, so no need to censor it for 'modern day' people" I joked…but then again…

"It all started just before I got here…"

She started explaining what happened to her to bring her here. A fight with a gang, the random cave, Zuo Ci, being found by Gan…you know the drill. Basically what happened to us but different. She was recruited straight away when I had to fight. She pissed of Cai Mao good. (I guess Nu didn't help) and has been helping out around the palace and general places.

When I listened to her story, I realised it was the little things that caused us to miss each other. At Jing she was looking at a dead body in…well, for need of a better word, guilt whilst me and Nu were talking to Gan. She was ill when we had the fight tourney and so stayed in her tent. I didn't see her at Chi Bi because she was ill…after just getting her scar.

We missed each other on the first 'settling in day' as I went to the balcony area and she was with the armourer…I'm not going to keep going as I think everything is explained to me, so please, don't ask me to explain all the missed times we could've met, because I can't explain them all…heck, I think she's struggling to remember them alll.

"…And that's it" she finished, the ending of her magnificent story that kinda mirrored my own. I was amazed at how long hers was compared to mine, but then, who really knows how long our stories are going to be at the end or how intertwined our fates are. "So what about you?" For heavens sake! I'm just gonna skip my long explanation and say 'she now knows' or do you want another book of what's happened to date…no! Didn't think so.

"I'll be honest, the weathers better here" I told her, smiling. She laughed at the joke, looking around.

"Yeah…it's been so long since we left England behind and came here" she told me, sounding kinda depressed.

"We'll go back one day" I told her, smiling as I put a hand on her shoulder.

"I know…but what if we can't"

"Then we'll make our lives here…I for one wouldn't mind sticking with Shang Xiang"

"I wouldn't mind living with Tong either"

"Anywho, changing subject back…" I looked out to sea, smiling. "I wonder if Gordon Brown's still ruining the country back in our time"

"Wouldn't be surprised" she laughed.

"And then again, we could be sat at home, listening to music or reading a book"

"True"

"But then, for history buffs this is heavens, to others, this is weird"

"Why weird?" she looked at me, raising an eyebrow.

"Put it this way: can you use 'magic' back home?" she shook her head. "We can do things here that could hardly be believed back home…heck, if this is how history is meant to go, we're making it"

"I can see your argument there"

"Besides, your martial arts definitely get more use out here"

"Even bigger point"

"Anyway, now that we've had this chat, what do you say we get off back to the palace?"

I stood up and offered her my hand; she took it, standing up as well.

_It was a good chat and walk home. Now I know that I'm definitely not alone any more…_

_Little did I know how much I would regret using the words 'intertwined fates' and telling that kid to sign up at 16._

* * *

Trying so hard not to give too much away here.


	34. to He Fei

For some reason I feel rusty. Someone pass me the writer's equivalent to WD40

Seriously, I feel like I'm not doing as well as I did before.

Chapter 33

To He Fei…

_When we got back, we knew things were going to be rough._

_The last day we spent with our loved one, training like hell. Shang Xiang helped me loads with my skills._

_We weren't looking forward to the battle ahead that was for sure._

The sun was burning my eyes as dawn arrived, forcing me to stir from my slumber and awaken. I slowly got up, rubbing my eyes as I turned to the window. Yeah, I know, really smart move when you're trying to wake up. BURN your eyes awake!

Either way, I regretted it…but it did the trick. I was almost wide awake as soon as my eyes had adjusted to the light. As I stood up and put my armour on (the old leather/bronze set I started with) I thought about the coming few days.

He Fei from what I had heard was a small farming area being set up with a brand new, technologically advance, 'impenetrable' fortress. Right now it was just a small fortress on the border, no siege necessary thankfully.

As soon as I had my stuff on, I grabbed my weapons (all three of them, just to be safe) and departed, strapping them on as I went. I didn't really feel like eating so that's the main reason why I skipped…besides, everyone said about how we'd have to leave at the crack of dawn…WHY THE CRACK OF DAWN? Why not midday? Be easier on my sleeping pattern that's for sure. As I traversed the halls, I met up with Gan. He was ready for the battle as well, with his sword on his shoulder.

"You ready to go?" he asked me, his bells jingling as he walked.

"As ready as I'll ever be" I replied, smiling. "Besides, I have a record to break"

"Oh yeah, I forgot that" he looked away and brushed his nose with his hand. "The veteran fighter who's never seen any of his battles through to the end"

"Is it my fault that I always seem to fall into enemy traps?"

"Yes" an uncomfortable silence after that, as he literally said it as I finished asking

"You didn't even think about that"

"Didn't have to" he looked at me, putting one hand on my shoulder. "But relax, we're still young, we'll make mistakes, but we'll always make up for them"

"And I will do" I looked back at him, looking serious. "I can't let my step-brother-to-be down now can I?"

"What's that about step-brother-to-be?" a new voice chimed in. I froze from the waist up, recognising the voice as Shang Xiang. She walked up behind me, I turned and saw her looking…shall we say, annoyed.

"Morning Shang Xiang" Gan said to her, seemingly none the wiser of my look or hers.

"Good morning Gan" she replied, in an annoyed way. "What were you two talking about?"

"Fu's history on the battlefield" he replied, merrily. "He was talking about how he's never seen a battle through to the end, then about how he can't Lord Sun Quan down" I unfroze, looking at Gan.

"Really?" she asked, surprised (?).

"Yeah, I intend to see this battle through and take whoever's in my way down" I told her, sounding confident. She smiled, standing between me and Gan.

"You'll be fine" she told me, putting her arm around me. "You're my husband to be"

I smiled at that, putting my arm around her as we neared the stables. The good old stable boy had gotten everything set up and ready to go. Gan was riding a white horse with a nice blue saddle. Shang Xiang was on a majestic chestnut brown horse with a fancier saddle then Gan's. And for me…well, Hell runner, what else?

"Be honest, how long will it take us to ride to He Fei?" I asked them, seeing them shrug.

"Seeing as though we have to lead our army there, a day or two" Shang Xiang replied. I raised an eyebrow at this.

"I thought they were already there"

"Nope, we're to head to nearby Ru Xu Kou and meet with Quan" Gan told me.

"I guess I missed that message"

Gan laughed as I said this, encouraging his horse into a gallop. Shang Xiang was next and I quickly followed. This ride would, hopefully, be a long one. I don't fancy my chances at leading a unit brilliantly.

_When I look back at that short walk from my room to the stables, I think of one question:_

_What if I hadn't of come here?_

_And then the two answers hit me:_

_You wouldn't be fighting and worrying about Nu and Shinra_

_You wouldn't have met such wonderful people._

_When I get back home, I'm definitely going to miss these years._

Yep, rusty. according to the wordcount, this is around 900 words.

Next chapter WILL be longer I swear, so hold your flaming stones for now *Gets a fire proof shield* ok, now you can throw them.


	35. He Fei part 1

Damn, I forgot the exact figures for numbers for the forces.

Chapter 34:

The battle of He Fei Part 1

Quick march

_Know thine enemy and know thine self._

_Well, I certainly don't know myself anymore._

_As for my enemy…ask later._

_Then again I guess you don't really know yourself until your true self comes out from under your persona._

"Ready to march my lord" I told Sun Quan, as I stood near my unit of swordsman.

"Are you sure you're ready for this Fu Xi?" he replied. No. "Are you going to be ok?"

"Relax; I'm a member of the strongest army in the land. I can't fail"

"Just remember to stick to the plan"

"I will only break from it if something important comes up" like having to protect you.

He nodded, and then walked off, Zhou Tai following along side. I think this deserves its own little update.

You see, last night, when Gan, Shang Xiang and I arrived at He Fei, we found that we only just made it in time for the council. The plan was the same as the last report, but we had a better idea of numbers.

We had near 5000 men. A lot by any reckoning so far. The defence force at He Fei…well, only just 1000…and then only 3 officers. The scouts were right, He Fei was undermanned. How can Cao Cao expect to hold anyone off with this number of men?

"Hey Fu!" Ling Tong shouted, throwing something at me (very accurately might I add) I felt the impact on the back of my head. "Are you about done day dreaming?"

"Just thinking" I told him, scratching my injury. "Something must be up here"

"What makes you say that?"

"The fact that He Fei is undermanned should be a giveaway" I told him, pulling out a map and unfurling it. "Sun Quan is stationed over the bridge here" I pointed at the bridge in question. "And the enemy have taken positions at the gates to the fortress" again, pointing them out. "Which leaves the centre"

"And you think that the enemy might use the centre" he finished. I nodded, looking at the ground.

"If the enemy are thinking the same, then Sun Quan had better not advance over the bridge, otherwise, he'll risk being cut off from our side" Tong tutted at this, shaking his head.

"I doubt that'll happen Fu" he told me, smacking my back. "But if it does, then we'll be ready for it"

"I just can't shake the feeling we're missing something" something big. Tong just shrugs his shoulders, raising his hands in the air.

"Whatever…give my regards to Shang Xiang" he told me, walking off whilst spinning his nunchuks

"Same to Su"

Now the fun begins. Due to reasons I for one can't understand, I'm to leave Hell Runner at the main camp. I've been told that, should I need him, all I have to do is whistle. Smart, I suppose, but how will it hear me on the other side of the battlefield?

Oh well, it's time to move. The sunrise being a guide, I run forward, leading my unit east to meet with Shang Xiang's unit. The men shout, running after me, their footsteps like a stampede.

A leader…doesn't sound like me at all…then again, neither does being a warrior. We ran across the country side for what felt like an hour, not seeing anything of any interest apart from the odd abandoned rice farm. These people must detest us for this. I'm sorry is all I can think of to say to them.

After about…an hour of running (and being totally knackered) we rendezvous with Shang Xiang's unit. She was mounted, leading a selection of archers and spears. And an even bigger stampede of feet behind us.

"Took you long enough" she told me. Nice way to say hello.

"Not used to the mass of soldiers following me" I told her.

"Well I think we're still on schedule"

"Aye" as I look into the distance, I can see a base…no standard above it. "And that's the base we're set to capture"

She looked at said base then nodded, charging forward towards it on her mount. I turned my head around, raising my spear above my head and then pointing to the base. Some of the men sped up, over taking me in order to set up.

Point 1: captured

When I got into the base, Shang Xiang had dismounted, looking around the small area. It was literally a square shaped, small base. Most of the space was used for supply storage and such. Man, seems Cao Cao was readying a lot, assuming that we would not attack. The men seemed to be overjoyed at our achievement, grabbing a couple of wine jars.

"No Drinking on Duty lads!" I shouted at them. They looked at me, upset. "Would you want the enemy to attack whilst you're drunk?" they shook their heads, putting the jars back. "Why not grab some of the gold?"

"Too late for some" Shang Xiang told me. I turned to her seeing 4 gold bars on her. "For us later"

"Right" I told her, extending that. The men went into a riot as they grabbed some gold. "Remind me never to give them an idea ever again"

"Cai Xu" Shang Xiang spoke, a cavalier riding up to her. "Ride to Brother and tell him we have this base"

"Yes my lady" he rode off towards the main camp, his horse galloping as fast as it could go. Shang Xiang turned to me, looking serious.

"And now we wait"

"How come?" I had to ask.

"Tong and Su need to keep pace with us, otherwise we'll be too far ahead for Gan to be of any help" makes sense. "Besides, they won't be…" a female cavalier rode in, panting as stopped next to us.

"Lady Su Zhi and Lord Ling Tong have captured the first northern supply base, but two of the enemy officers have moved to block them and you by capturing the other bases on either route" she informed us.

"Well, that was well timed" I commented, scratching my arm. "How are Lu Meng, Sun Quan and Zhou Tai doing?"

"Lu Meng has broken off from Sun Quan's front, heading to reinforce Ling Tong and Su Zhi. Sun Quan himself and Zhou Tai are holding the centre, making sure that the enemy can't get around them"

"Thank you" Shang Xiang told her. She did the hand thing, riding off. "So I guess we can move out after all"

"Absolutely" she remounted her horse, holding onto her Chakam. "Come on, we're going to have to move out"

I nodded as she started at a trot. The men had gotten a hold of themselves, reorganising and looking at us.

"Well, come on. We haven't got all day" I told them, holding the spear above my head, getting a shout from the men. We all ran out after that, heading towards the enemy.

I for one couldn't wait. If Zhang Liao was here, it would be a great chance to fight him again. Chi Bi had been a small fight. Now look where I am, better then I was before with a new weapon. He had intrigued me though, as I don't know anyone so bound to honour as he.

Heading north was easy; the countryside was generally sloping slightly uphill, but nothing too bad. The river flowed to our right, heading to the bridge Sun Quan would have been going over. Shang Xiang had been leading us all the way, so I was surprised when she suddenly stopped and dismounted.

"What's wrong?" I asked her, stopping next to her and stopping the men.

"The enemy is there" she simply told me. I didn't know what she meant, but I had a look. Sure enough, the enemy was there, just sneaking about.

"I see" I put my sword into its sheath, getting my crossbow out. "Well, what do you say we give them a nice welcome?"

She nodded, turning around and organising the men. I knelt down, getting a few bolts out and setting the crossbow up. A few archers joined me, loading arrows into their bows.

"Fire at will!" I shouted, aiming at a soldier and firing a bolt off. The other archers raised their bows and fired. A rain of arrows fell from the heavens, the one I fired at falling to my bolt about 10 others falling to our rain. The others raised shields, blocking the rest. Seems like this trick won't work twice. "WEAPONS!" I put the crossbow away along with the rest of my bolts. The archers drew swords while the rest of our two units moved forward.

"To battle!" Shang Xiang shouted, running forward.

The rush into combat, the moment any soldier would dread. We thundered forward like a thunder bolt, along with being as loud as one. The enemy quickly formed up, taking a flat line formation and bracing with their shields. These guys don't know who their fighting do they?

5 feet. I hold my spear in front of me, preparing as I take the lead.

It's fighting time.

I lower my spear, using it for a bit of pole-vaulting over the enemy. The rest of the unit collide with the enemy, the frenzied sound of steel on steel erupting as a storm of blades emerges on the frontline. I'm above the front, somehow spinning in the air above them, falling quite quickly.

"Cannonball!" I shout, thrusting my spear down and impaling one in the chest. I hit th ground, pulling my spear out of him and letting him fall. "Fear me, Soldiers of Wei! The Demon of Wu is here!" I shout again. The soldiers around me turn and see me. I throw the spear out, hitting one in the chest.

3 enemy soldiers behind me try their luck, to which I just spin round, slashing their chests with a single swing, blood pouring out of the wounds. They fall down slowly. I yank the spear back, feeling the chain slowly come back.

Now, this is where one problem I didn't foresee comes into play. When you throw the spear, it will dig in, correct? Of course. Well, now it appears it is stuck. I turn to see the soldier, still moving, being pulled by my spear. When the spear is back in it's place, the poor guy is just looking at me.

"Sorry about this mate" I tell him, trying to push him off. Gentle push. Nothing. Firm push. Nothing. Sudden kick. Nothing (except a pained guy as he puts his hands on his groin) "Ok, plan B"

I step onto the spear, flipping in the air with the guy following. I thrust the spear with all my strength. The soldier flies off, and the group he flies into are definitely bowled over. That did the trick.

Landing quite nicely, I stand up, running at another soldier and swinging the sword at him. He blocks with the wooden (wooden?) shield. Three people around me try their luck, shouting as they raise their blades above their heads. I back flip away, impaling my spear in the ground as I do so. I feel a slight burning sensation in my leg, and find a drop of blood on my chin.

"You'll pay for that" I tell them. I throw my spear out, focusing on the Energy within me. The chain and spear start sparking but, unfortunately, it misses the first foe. Well, nothing ventured. I start spinning round, taking the spear with me. Now, the weird thing about this tactic, even though it probably isn't the wisest thing in the world to do, is that the enemies I hit get…well, how do I put this? I suppose struck by lightning is the only way to say it. Seriously, I don't understand it either, but after flooring about 20 of them, I stopped spinning, digging my blade into the ground and yanking my spear back. The world was spinning by me as I stood still, and I was thankful I was low to the ground.

"Fu!" Shang Xiang shouted. It seemed like about 50 enemies were charging me at once. Amazingly I saw 50 Shang Xiang's charge them at once, swinging the Chakam pair with finess. About a million other soldiers went by, helping her out as she came over to me. "You ok?"

"Don't kick me out coach" I told her, whilst in a daze. "I've been working on my vocals" the 25 of her raised an eyebrow. "And I've learnt how to discombobulate the crowd" I'm sure the 10 of her are starting to cut down in number. I close my eyes and shake my head, reopening them and only seeing one. "Man that was confusing, what exactly did I say?"

"Get a grip, we've got a fight to win!" she shouted, pulling me up. "And don't do that again, unless you know what you're doing!"

"Sorry" I told her, looking at the enemy lines. "Time to do some work!"

Shang Xiang nodded, leading me into the fray. We went around the soldiers, engaging the enemy from near the river…the only gap in the enemy line. She cut two with her chakam, slashing across their chests, one each. She then began on another one, doing a backflip whilst kicking them. Somehow, the guy blocked with his shield, which was then raised due to the kicked…hah, my time.

I ran under Shang Xiang's legs, swinging my sword low so I could slice through the soldier's legs. He saw this, moving his sword to block. However, I saw this coming, moving my spear quickly to slam his sword to one side. I somehow failed to stop his sword, but mine still went through him. He fell swiftly, clutching the stumps that used to be his feet, screaming at the top of his voice as the blood flowed out like a red waterfall. I stabbed him once again, to put him out of his misery.

"Where's the enemy officer?" I asked Shang Xiang, cutting through 2 more.

"Engaging the front line!" she replied, cartwheeling through the unit. She stopped beside me, doing another backflip, except, somehow, calling a whirlwind in the area she kicked in. that got about three, which I quickly stabbed. She stood beside me, parrying three attacks. "I'm sure our units will have him defeated soon!"

"Either that or we cut down this unit!" I quickly sent an attack upwards, kicking at his chest before slashing at him with my sword.

I took a seconds break, ascertaining the situation. The enemy were nearly down, I could see that much. About 50 left, that was for sure. Not much more and we'd have the enemy broken.

"Grr…I can't die here. Fall back!" I heard someone shout. I then saw an officer, with a halberd ON (unfortunately, I was hoping for IN) his back, clutching his shoulder. The rest of his men broke from the battle, running like there was no tomorrow. I held my bloodied spear above my head.

"VICTORY!" I shouted. Everyone shouted the word and raised their weapons. One down, 2 to go.

We got a few seconds of celebrations before 2 things happened.

As everyone stopped, I looked into the river. Debris of sorts from a bridge floated this far UPSTREAM (breaking physics?). Shang Xiang looked worried. Ha, not as worried as me.

Next, the cavalier Shang Xiang sent off returned, an arrow sticking out of his back. He fell off instead of stopping, the horse riding off. Everyone looked shocked; me and Shang Xiang ran over to him, supporting him whilst pulling the arrow out. He was breathing heavily…more gasping for air as if it were being taken from him.

"Cai Xu!" I shouted, shaking him as his eyes closed. He reopened them, looking between me and Shang Xiang.

"Lord…Sun Quan…" he spoke, fighting for he words to come out. "Caught in…attack…trapped…by Zhang Liao…and officers"

"He was caught in an ambush?" Shang Xiang asked, amazed and frightened. The messenger nodded, still gasping for breath. "The enemy were ready for us" while I am afraid for my brother in law, I'm more scared that I was right in predicting what would happen.

"Save him" he breathed. His muscles tightened, then relaxed. Death had taken him. a sombre feel sweep over us as he passed.

None of us cried, we knew we couldn't yet. We had to finish off this battle, and then we could bury him. My resolve burned more then ever.

"Take the men and secure the second base" I told Shang Xiang, standing up and securing everything to me. Putting my sword as tightly as I could in my sheath and tightening the sheath up. My great sword would be fine on my back.

"What are you doing?" she asked. I didn't answer her, walking over to the river. "Fu!" I turned to her, smiling as I stood with my back to the river, my arms spread apart.

"I'm going to save our brother" I told her, jumping backwards into the water.

As I resurfaced, I saw her standing at the edge of the water, getting ready to follow.

"Don't!" I shouted. She stopped, looking at me. "Secure the base, keep to the plan!"

She looked annoyed at this, but nodded, getting her Chakams back on her hands, waving the men to follow her. I turned around, following the river, swimming down to Sun Quan.

_A lot of people back home used to tell me something._

_They used to tell me that, if you want something, you need to keep hoping, keep wishing and fighting for that dream to come true._

_Now that I think about that, I can see why they'd think that._

_But the cold truth is, only the fighting part is any where near true._

…

What, can't I have some kind of super special awesome move?

Besides, the spear is a good idea…just not the spinning thing.

Although, it worked.

And how else do you explain the ability to summon your horse?

Wait…wrong game.

DAMN W.O.


	36. He Fei part 2

Where was I?

Oh yeah, Lorze, just thinking, with Su, why not get some armour on your legs, that way, you can leave a massive injury if you hit them full force.

And why not get bladed boots. You know? Those ones where you can kick at things and it leaves a sword like mark.

* * *

Chapter 35:

The battle of He Fei part 2

Round 2

* * *

_Whatever happens, I know that I'll be around_

_Not even death will stop me…_

* * *

Remind me once I get back to never swim again…unless that is in a bathtub or swim in the metaphoric sense. The reason I'm saying that is…well, the amount of junk that's in here…rubble, soil and…god only knows. I know it wasn't what I thought it was, being yellow, but it made me think that for a bit.

The cold river flew past the landscape, carrying me right where I wanted to go. I found the broken bridge that Sun Quan had gone over, seeing the swordsman fighting off several enemy soldiers, along with his own bodyguard. A dead horse was next to him. Ok, it's go time.

I swung my arm out, throwing the spear at the bridge. It stuck into the strange covering it had, digging in. the chain yanked me up, getting me out of the water and half drying me off. Before the chain fully retracted, I clenched my fist, stopping the chain. I looked at Quan, swinging on the chain over in his direction.

He swung at and took down two more foes, long sword marks trailing along their bodies. I got a good swing going, getting the spear out of the cover and 'floating' over to the enemy. I held the spear back, thrusting it forward and impaling an enemy. It went through his shoulder, the swordsman screaming in pain as I put my weight into it.

"Sun Quan!" I shouted, spinning round, dragging the soldier with me. I crashed on the ground, the soldier being thrown rather heavily into another one. I heard several cracks in them they hit the ground. I pulled my spear back out, getting back up, a warm feeling on my face. There were about 10 left.

"Fu Xi" he said, backing up until he was next to me. "Seems like we fell to willingly into the trap"

"Relax, just survive" I told him. three of the enemy came at us, swinging their blades in unison. I blocked all three with the spear, Quan following up with a slash at them. He cleaved their heads clean off, three light thuds, then 3 heavy, as blood flew around, most of it landing on me. The other 7 looked at us, fear in their eyes. I smiled, the group recoiling. "Boo" they ran like hell, screaming their heads off in fear. I lowered my weapons, loosening my stuff. They were really starting to hurt. "You need to get back across" I told Quan, turning to him.

"I know, but how?" he asked. Seems simple enough.

"Get a horse" I told him. He motioned to the dead one next to him. "Good point"

So he needs a horse to get back. Well, lucky I have one. I whistled, Hell runner neighing some distance away. I stood still, the horse landing behind me, just after the bridge. I smiled, stroking his neck. "Good girl" what? it is. I looked at Quan.

"Take her" I told him, looking around, not seeing Zhang Liao. "Where is he?"

"Lady Su said she's take care of him" he told me, getting on my horse. "I'm not sure if she can handle him with her small equipment"

"Relax Quan" I told him. I saw some enemies in the distance. "Go! I'll find her!"

He looked at me and nodded, urging Hell runner into a gallop. I turned around once, seeing him jump the bridge on her with ease. Good, now I can get to business. I looked back at the enemy, clicking my neck for effect.

"Come on then!" I shouted, taking a defensive stance. There couldn't have been more then 20 of them. Numbers I would have been afraid off in the past. They all came at me in a sort of unneat line for some reason. Thanks for making my job easier fellows.

I crouched down low when the first was 5 foot away. He was on my right, perfect. I swung at him, cutting through his chest with ease, blood spurting out and covering my sword. I stabbed the next one, who was on my right, with the spear. The rest were in the same way, left then right then left. I span round, the wound I left with the spear bleeding like hell, and swung at the next one, cleaving through his arm. I felt the red liquid warm my arm, adrenaline running through me.

What a rush.

I stabbed the next one, using him as a centre to spin from and slice through the next. The first one got stabbed in the shoulder, the second; a stump for a leg was made. I threw my spear out, hitting the last one in the group. I held my sword out before yanking, getting pulled towards him. my sword cut through the enemies I hit, cleaving through them like a hot knife through butter. When I got to the last one, I pulled the spear out, looking back and smiling.

I'll save you the graphic details, but they were dead, leaving two…blood volcanoes. Each. The rush dulled the want to vomit. But the remaining few seemed to get the hint. They looked at me, terror in their eyes. "Go and I'll let you live" I told them. They dropped their weapons instantly, running for the Wu border. Wow, I'm getting good at this.

I looked back where I was going, seeing Su with Zhang Liao. She was using her clackers at a distance, swinging them at the officer. He span his polearm in his hands, sending them back each and every time. After about 10 times (I was already running by the way) he span it in front of him, the clacker ball inches from his face. But he had done his job; the chain holding them together was caught in the weapon, now getting wound up in it. Su let her weapon go, getting her daggers palmed. How she hoped to hold him off with them, I'll never know.

Zhang Liao flicked his spear, the clackers falling off with ease. He charged at Su, swinging his weapon with full force. Su held her daggers up, hoping to block the blow, getting ready to roll.

She rolled back, dodging the swing whilst getting closer to the general. She tried to stab him, which was effortlessly blocked with the blunt end of his weapon. He looked deadly serious, Su looked worried. I could see why.

He hit her in the face with his weapon, spinning round and attempting to swing at her legs. She jumped back, taking some of the blow. Long thin red marks appearing in her legs. She shouted, falling down to the ground.

"Surrender" he commanded. Su got back up unsteadily, spitting at him. "So be it" he brought his weapon back, getting ready for a swung. Su brought her arms up, holding her dagger. I was barely 5 foot away, Zhang Liao starting to swing. I started to swing my weapons.

A loud sound of wood on steel…

Su looked at me. I strained against Zhang Liao's spear, barely inches from her face. I gritted my teeth, looking at Zhang Liao. He looked at me, and looked angry. Nice to see you too. I looked at Su.

"You ok Su?" I asked her. She nodded, jumping back. I forced Zhang Liao's weapon up, spinning round and kicking him in the chest with the back of my foot. The warrior went backwards, looking at me as he stopped.

"You again" he spoke. I put Su's weapon on the end of my spear, lifting it and giving it to her. "A worthy opponent at last"

"You two know each other?" Su asked. I nodded, smiling

"Let's just say we have a history…1-nill to me" I looked at Liao, thinking which weapon to use. "He lost to my blade at Chi Bi…and he will lose here to it" you know, I think I'll stick to these two. "Back me up"

"Sure" she span her clackers again, looking at Zhang Liao.

I charged him, Su following me. Zhang Liao watched us, wondering what we'd do. I held my blade back, Su doing the same with her weapon. As I swung my blade, Zhang Liao moved his spear, blocking me. I thrust my spear forward, he effortlessly knocked it away. I took a last swing with my sword, he blocked, spinning round and taking a swing.

I did a backflip, kicking his lance with the steel of my boot. Su jumped forward, swinging her clackers around, trying to find a break in his defences. This time she was more careful, doing wide swings instead of dead centre. She took five swings, each one blocked or dodged. On the last one, Liao stood on the ball, taking a swing at Su.

I intercepted again, hitting his spear with my blade, and putting my spear on the other side of it. Su ducked, I yanked my spear back, nearly pulling Zhang Liao's weapon away from him. Su pulled his clacker back, running around to his back. I kicked at my opponent, only just missing. He yanked his spear back, taking a wide swing at me. I bent backwards, seeing and feeling the spear just miss me, my hair getting ruffled by the weapon.

That was WAY too close for comfort. I heard a groan from our opponent, looking and seeing Su, having managed to stab him in the back. Zhang Liao looked pissed, spinning round quickly, his spear in his hands. Su didn't see it coming, neither did I.

She took the full blunt force trauma of a spear to the head…well, spear shaft. She flew to the right like a ragdoll, hitting the ground and bouncing several times before finally stopping 15 foot away. I looked at Su, not seeing her moving.

"SU!!!" I shouted, starting to run over to her. Zhang Liao hit me with the blunt end of his spear, spinning round and digging the point into my back. I screamed in pain as the steel burnt my flesh asunder, falling to the ground. Come on Fu, you can do this. I tried to hold my place, but fell flat to the ground. Not quite dead.

I heard the sound of him spinning his weapon around, getting ready to deliver the final blow. I remember the words 'make it painless' going through my head. before he had the chance, I heard several people shout, followed by wood and steel on steel. Reinforcements. What are the chance?

I crawled forward, away from Liao as quickly as I could. (which, being blunt, wasn't very fast) I mainly used my spear to drag me forward, my sword in a now limp hand. When I reached Su, I checked her pulse quickly.

She was alive… Her pulse was weak though. She opened her eyes slowly as I felt mine starting to close.

"Craig" she weakly spoke. I fought to stay awake. To stay alive. "How do we…fight him…like we are?"

"I…don't know" I told her, swallowing every few seconds. I spat on the ground, finding blood instead of salvia. "But…if we don't…then we aren't…going home"

I looked at my spear hand, seeing blood dripping out of it. I grabbed it, yanking it off painfully, seeing that I was bleeding from the back of my hand. Must have been when I blocked with the spear. I weakly placed the gauntlet on my belt, putting my sword away.

"We…can't do it" she spoke, trying her best to get up.

"We have to…at least try" I looked at Zhang Liao, seeing him dealing with a crowd of enemy soldiers. "Or…you get help…whilst I hold him off" I placed my hand on my great sword, placing my weak hand on the ground to try and get up. I pulled out my sword, using that to better effect. I weakly stood up, Laura getting up as well. She had put her clackers on her shoulder.

I'm not sure what it was, whether it was the loss of blood, the light headedness or the fact that I just thought of it. But I got out my long sword again, an idea popping into my head, and then turning to Laura.

"I hate to say it…but I need…some of your clothes" I told her. She stepped back, aghast.

"Now's…not the best time…to be asking me…for that" she told me. I felt myself getting weaker.

"No…to put pressure…on my wounds" I felt a clear section where the great sword had been. "Please…just your arm pieces"

She sighed, getting a dagger out and quickly cutting them off. They were thankfully bigger then they looked, as when she passed them to me and I cut them, they were long enough to cover my wounds. I quickly threw them round; making sure the wounds wouldn't be able to bleed until it came off. After about 15 seconds I was done…and so was he. I put my great sword back on my back, nearly falling over from the pain.

"Go! Get help from a nearby unit!" I shouted. Laura nodded, running as fast as she could to the east…Shang Xiang's unit. she whistled, a horse running next to her, which she adeptly got onto, riding off. Please…Su, don't fail.

"Now that these minions are gone" Zhang Liao spoke, looking at me. I looked back at him, weakly gritting my teeth. "Now to finish you" I held my sword up as best as I could, Zhang Liao running over to me. Please say I can pull this off.

He swung at me, shouting as loud as he could. I swung to block, finding myself unable to hold myself up. I hit his weapon, falling to the ground. No. I can't fail now. I got back up as quick as possible, seeing Zhang Liao pulling his weapon from the ground.

"So, you choose a valorous end" he told me, pointing his spear at me. "I'll let you live if you run"

"I…refuse to run now!" I shouted at him, placing my sword by my leg. "I'll let destiny speak for my decision now!" somehow, my determination is pushing me on, giving me that last bit of energy I need. Zhang Liao grunts, spinning his spear above his head before stopping, lowering it in front of himself.

"So be it" he told me. He charged at me, aiming a quick swing at me. I watched, trying to time my plan just right.

He swung his spear.

I swung my sword…and my hand out.

"GAH!!!"

Somehow, I don't know how in my current state, I managed to grab his spear, stabbing his leg as I did so. I yanked my sword out, blood gushing out. I let his spear go, letting him fall to the floor.

"You may live" I told him. He got up with the help of his spear, but stayed on the ground.

"Why do you continually allow me to run?" he asked. I shrugged.

"Because…" I didn't know how to continue really…why was I letting him live. "Because I know there is a lot more to war then constant death" I felt my energy fading quickly. "Maybe if I let you live, then I'll be helping myself in the end…I don't know"

Zhang Liao nodded, whistling his horse. He held his hand up as the horse flew by, him holding onto the reins. I watched him get on, turning back to me.

"Thank you" he mouthed, before signalling the retreat. His men fell back, the other remaining Wu soldiers celebrating.

I looked around; the sound of the Wu soldiers was…just not there. I watched them, moving their mouths, hitting weapons against one another, but no sound. I put my sword away weakly, seeing blood hitting the floor.

"I…don't want to…" I fell to one knee, my strength now gone. "Die…here…"

Next thing I knew, I had hit the ground, my head landing in a pool of blood…then my world faded into darkness…

* * *

_If it hadn't been for Su…I don't think either of us would have gotten out of their alive…_

_I'm glad she made it though…_

* * *

O_O

I'M DEAD!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

NOW WHO WILL…ERM, TYPE MY STORIES?

And that's HALF the revenge, Lorze. Zhang Liao's spear butt to the head.

Why do I have the feeling that is spelt wrong?

Anyway, if you remember back in chapter 10 or 11, when we got the new armour and Sarah/Nu got the bladed bow, we did a little Spar.

I grabbed the spear off her.

The same thing was used here.

See, training does pay off.


	37. he fei part 3

This'll be the 2nd last chapter for He Fei and indeed this section for Fu. As I am going over to Shu for a bit. Update the story from Nu's point of view.

* * *

Chapter 36

The battle of He Fei part 3

Redemption

_Maybe it was the fact that I hate losing_

_Maybe it was the fact that I hadn't made it through one battle in my career._

_Maybe it was the fact it was my death…_

_I don't know._

_But something drove me…_

"Lord Fu…"

"He's out…"

"How could he alive like this?"

"Quiet, Su, he's coming too"

The four voices, 2 male, 2 female. That was the first thing I heard. The first thing I felt was a searing pain in my back and foot. I opened my eyes, seeing a lot more of Shang Xiang then I thought I would in a public place. She pulled back, seeing me with my eyes open.

"You're alive" she told me. I nodded, my strength still not yet back.

"You did well…" Zhou Tai told me. I looked at him, seeing Quan and Su near him. I looked around, seeing that we were in a base.

"What…happened?" I asked, trying to sit up.

"You took a deep wound from Zhang Liao during your fight" Quan told me. I remember that. But I thought I'd died. "Su got Shang Xiang to come and save you after leaving a sizable force as a garrison at the fortress" Quan stepped closer to me, stopping by my right. "I came to help you with reinforcements…and found you near death"

"Well…I'm here" I told him, standing up, uneasily. The others stepped forward, wanting to help me. I held my hand out, stopping them. "Just get me…my equipment…and I'll be fine" Shang Xiang looked at me sternly.

"After coming that close to death you still wish to fight?" she asked. the worry evident in her voice. I nodded.

"I have to" I replied. My strength had nearly returned now. "If I don't, then how can I expect this battle to go well" that and I've got to make sure Wengi and Guan retreat.

"Very well…then let me update you" Quan clicked his fingers, two soldiers coming in, carrying my equipment. I grabbed the smaller two, setting them up for travel. "Ma Wengi and Fei Guan have retreated, along with Zhang Liao" so my job is done…no…it's still going. "Cao Cao has arrived with Reinforcements, consisting of Xiahou Dun among others" so the big man is here. Time to cut him down.

"I still don't think you should go" Shang Xiang told me, as I strapped my sword to my back. I looked at her, the woman nearly in tears. "I don't want to lose someone else"

"And you won't do" I told her, getting my spear off my gauntlet, grabbing my sword. I'd been meaning to sort this out for ages. I cut a length of the shaft off, leaving it long enough to make a make and be grabbed, but now it won't hit my arm every time I drag it back in. "Besides, you should know me, Shang Xiang" I looked at her, smiling. "I'm what you'd call a demon" I looked at my back, seeing that the armour had been patched up. "and demons have a way of coming back, despite heavy injuried" I walked up to her, smiling. "I guess now's the time to prove that" I walked by her, looking between Quan and Su. "I'm gonna charge He Fei from here" I told him. Something told me this was Shang Xiang's camp. "I'm going to finish this battle off now"

The pain in my back subsided. I checked it, seeing that the wound was now scarring. Perfect, now as long as I don't get hurt again, that'll heal nicely. Whatever they used in this day and age must be potent, after all, a wound that big healing so quickly is almost unheard.

Quan and Zhou left the tent, as did Su. Me and Shang Xiang were alone. She wrapped her arms around my chest, hugging me. I looked at me, seeing her crying.

"Please…Don't go" she told me, choking back tears. I turned around, wrapping my arms around her. "I don't…want to lose you…"

"You're not going to" I comforted her. She buried her head into my chest. "I may be a demon, but I'm going to need someone to prove I'm human" I joked on that. She seemed to not see the funny side, continually crying. "I will not fall here…you know why?" she looked up at me, shaking her head. "Because I will always have you to come home to"

She still choked back tears, but nodded, understanding my promise. I lowered my head, giving her a kiss on the lips. I'm not giving sordid details, but it didn't last long. We broke our lips off, tears nearly in my eyes.

"When I come home, I want you to do something for me" I told her. she nodded. "I want you to sit down with me and organise our wedding" she nodded, fighting back her tears. "Now come on, let's show Cao Cao we mean business"

She nodded, wiping her tear away and seemingly acting as if they had never happened. I shoved my gauntlet on, getting used to the spear (or therefore lack of) weight. I swung it about, making sure I wouldn't make the mistake of assuming it would stop on my arm when I over swung.

It's time to end this.

I stepped out, seeing the units ready to move. Hell runner was ready, waiting to go and finish this battle. Shang Xiang's horse was next to her. I noticed Quan and Zhou Mounted, along with Su at the head of the units.

"Gan Ning's unit has met up with Ling Tong's" he told me. I mounted Hell runner, grabbing her reins.

"So we're attacking Cao Cao on two fronts" I replied. He nodded as Shang Xiang mounted her horse.

"They have already started" he told me, pointing ahead. I looked there, seeing the fort in question. A line of men had gathered, ready to defend.

"Then let's move" I told him, then urging Hell runner into a trot. I moved around the men, Shang Xiang following. Su ran up to me.

"Be careful" she told me. I nodded, looking at the enemy.

"Let's go!" I shouted.

I urged Hell runner into a gallop, holding my spear above my head as I did so. The men raised their weapons, shouting as they did so, then following us across the plains. The air rushed by me, Shang Xiang keeping close.

We looked at the enemy, seeing them heading towards us. I knew this wouldn't be easy. It seems to be even numbers, but they have better placement.

I stood up in the saddle, looking at the blue sea in front of me.

Soon, the plains would drink of their blood.

"Hell runner!" I shouted, drawing my longsword. The gap closed to about 5 feet. "Halt!" she pulled to a stop suddenly. I ran forward, jumping off of her and flying into the enemy ranks.

Take it easy…that's not me. I prefer to be in the thick of things. And now, being 10 feet above the enemy, I can see their faces.

They are shocked, surprised to see a flying human being, never mind descending upon them with murderous intent.

I crashed down, slamming the spear into on of them. He screamed in pain until I withdrew the spear, on which he fell to the ground, silently. I put the spear away, getting my long sword ready. This is where the fun begins.

Surrounded by a defence force, with little hope of help. What an adrenaline rush!

Three tried their luck at once, charging at me with their swords, aiming for my chest. I jumped as they swing, landing on their swords. They all lowered them, struggling to lift me. "Weak!" I shouted, swinging at their heads, dropping them all instantly. I looked around, seeing other soldiers too afraid to attack me. "COWARDS!"

I charged at one, swinging my sword at him. he blocked me, another two trying to help him. I span round, dragging my blade along the ground, then jumping and slamming it down on the ground between them. A shockwave shot out from me, a long slash appearing in the surrounding 10 enemies. They all fell, blood spurting from them.

I was slowly making my way towards the gate, swinging at enemies in order to block and counter them. Sometimes, when I blocked one attack, I would grab his sword arm, head butt him, and then kick him in a rather sensitive area. They would fall to the ground, helpless as I swung at their heads.

All through this, I had killed about 50 enemies in a short space of time, using every skill I had with this blade, but mostly the shockwave trick. I had to swing 4 times at one enemy, my blade being stopped by his armour.

The 4th swing didn't pierce the metal, but what it did do was better. He froze to the spot, almost like a human Popsicle. I kicked it, shattering the ice and him along with it. I looked at the gate, seeing it wide open, Gan and Tong working on the enemy forces. I killed one last foe, hitting him in the head after a counter.

I ran past the enemy after this, turning around once to fire one bolt. This hit one soldier in the eye. As I turned to them, I saw Su and Shang Xiang not to far behind me, making quick work of the defence force.

If I was doing this much damage on my own, despite my injuries, imagine what they must be doing with loads of soldiers helping them. I saw Tong and Gan working together to flatten a group of 15 foes, their backs to me as I approached. Two more enemies appear, hoping to slash at them.

"Gan! Tong!" I shouted, slashing the soldiers like a samurai would. I span my blade in my hand, putting it away. When the final click sounded that the blade was still, they fell to the ground, a long sword mark in both of them. They turned to me, surprise on their faces.

"What took you?" Gan asked, putting his thumb up.

"The usual; near death experiences, fights involving heavy injuries and the like" I told them, smiling.

"Same as every other day" Tong told me. I drew my greatsword, knowing that would be better here.

I heard three sets of armour behind me. I turned around, seeing three soldiers. I jumped and span around, swinging my blade at them. They all took the blade, one getting cleave in two, the second losing his arms and only just keeping his torso. The third was killed outright. That's what I can do when I mean business.

"Well there officer of Wu" I heard someone say. I turned to them, seeing a man about twice my age. He had a big blade on his shoulder, along with an eyepatch and a blue cape. His chain mail armour looked good, I'll give him that. "That's a fancy blade you have there"

"Same to you" I replied…what? His blade was fancy.

"How would you like to test it against Xiahou Dun?" he asked, swinging his blade down, then holding it in two hands, like a samurai, but straight up.

"Your on" I told him, holding my blade firmly in front of me.

"We'll handle Cao Cao" Tong told me, he and Gan running off.

"Good luck" I told him.

"You'll be needing that luck" he told me, laughing.

"We'll see, one eyed general" oh yes, I had heard the story of Xia Pi, where he got shot and lost his eye. "After all, I'm sure you're not too bad for me to handle myself" he laughed at this, focusing himself.

This was where I'd finish the battle, with a duel against the legendary Xiahou Dun, one of the five generals of Wei. This is going to be fun.

_If I had followed what Shang Xiang had told me, then I would have felt guilty for not doing so._

_That and the fact that I need to help my friends is the main reason I did charge in._

_I'm sure that the defence force lost it's grip on reality as I cut through it._

_But it seems to have worked in my favour…_

_Now all I had to do was beat a famous general and his blade…_

_With my blade and a bad track record._

* * *

Right, if this isn't as good as normal, I have an excuse.

This was done at 03:20 GMT time.

3:20 IN THE MORNING

THAT'S HOW MUCH I WANTED TO DO THIS.

AND ABUSE THE CAPS BUTTON AS WELL BUT STILL.

I'LL TRY TO BE BETTER NEXT THAT

Kay?


	38. He Fei part 4

Ok, I'm sure this is the last of the Wu set for now. So enjoy.

Chapter 37

The battle of He Fei part 4

Duel.

_Xiahou Dun versus Fu Xi_

_Two skilled swordsmen with massive blades_

_One speedy, the other strong._

_Why don't I fancy my odds against speed?_

I held my blade firmly in my hands, pointing it at Xiahou Dun. He held his blade pointed upwards, like you'd expect a samurai to. He paced around each other, never looking away, never talking.

Suddenly, he acted, holding his blade low and charging at me, moving at an almost unseeable pace. I quickly moved my blade, making it collide with his as he swung it upwards. The sound of steel on steel rang out as we collided, my blade was launched upwards. I still managed to keep it in my hand, not that it mattered. He followed up, swinging it along his and my chest. I quickly bent over backwards, feeling the blade cut through the air above me.

That was a close shave. I got back up, pulling my blade down. Xiahou Dun smiled, swinging his blade down. I quickly swung my blade in one hand, blocking his attack between us, locking our blades together. I put my other hand on the sword, putting everything I had into it. We both gritted our teeth, trying to break the other.

We both jumped back, landing on the grass behind us. I span my blade in my hand, holding it just above my head, pointed at him. He went back to his samurai-esque stance, the pair of us restarting our pacing.

"You're good" I told him.

"So are you…for a dog of Wu" Xiahou Dun replied, looking more serious then before.

"You say that, but I'm not doing too badly" I charged at him, swinging my blade along my chest. He moved his blade, blocking me. he smiled…was he getting a kick out of this?

He pushed my blade back, spinning around. I got pulled around by my blade, using it to my advantage. We both swung at the same time, interrupting each other's attacks with our blades. He swung again, aiming vertically. I span halfway around, crouching and blocking it with my sword, like I did against Shang Xiang back in the arena. I didn't have to see him to tell he was surprised.

"Got you" I spoke, spinning around to try and take his legs out. He jumping, spinning in the air to try and get by my guard. I jumped up to dodge, seeing the blade dig into the ground. I swung my blade down, using the momentum to spin around in the air and slam the blade down. He jumped back, dodging my blade.

I got up quickly, stepping back in order to get my bearings. I felt the chain from my spear coil around my leg, along with my back injuries playing up. I took a hand off my weapon, taking the chain off my gauntlet. It fell with a ching, staying on my spear. I put my hand in the gauntlet, getting it out of the way, and getting some armour on my hand. Good thing it goes on and off so easily.

Xiahou Dun saw me putting the armour piece on, smiling.

"So you think that small thing is going to save you" he commented, laughing a bit. "A small piece of rust isn't going to save you" Oh you didn't! "If you think that will help, fine…it's your death"

I gritted my teeth, charging at him, swinging my blade downwards. He held his blade above his head, blocking my blade. I smiled, throwing a punch at him with my 'iron' hand. He fell back, recoiling as he held his nose. I watched him, seeing him look at his hand, then spit on the ground. He turned to me, blood pouring from his nose. THAT had to hurt, judging on the way it's out of shape. He's lucky I'm not using these steel boots for something equally painful.

He charged back at me, swinging his sword wildly. I moved my blade to block, getting knocked back about 5 feet. Xiahou Dun kept on coming, swinging his blade around.

He swung at my head; I moved my blade to block, stopping him inches from my head on the left. He span the blade over his head, going for my right. I raised my gauntlet, the blade colliding with it. I felt pain in my arm as it felt the blade. while it didn't dig in, the blunt impact hurt enough. I wacked his blade with mine, knocking him back.

He went for a stab on my right side. I jumped to the left, spinning whilst doing that and bringing my blade up behind me. When I realigned with him, I brought my blade down heavily, hoping to hit him. He held his blade diagonally, blocking my attack, mostly. I clipped his hand, my attack sending him back 10 feet.

"Never underestimate the strength of a warrior of Wu" I told him, holding my Gauntleted hand up in a fist. "You'll live…and die…regretting it" Xiahou Dun wiped his nose, getting more blood.

I breathed heavily, the adrenaline rush leaving my body. This battle could only end in two ways: me or him losing. I hold my blade to my side, hoping to get a good rush next round. He mirrored my action, holding his blade behind him.

We both charged, screaming at the top of our voices. Everything else was being drowned out.

I swung my blade low.

He swung his blade high.

We both ended a foot behind each other, not moving, except to breath. I was crouching, my knee getting coated in crimson mud. He was stood tall, his blade high.

I fell first, letting my sword go as I put my hand on the ground to keep myself up. I felt a burning pain in my back, putting my hand on it and finding my injury open again. Another burning pain erupted in my side. I looked at it, seeing that he had gotten me, a cut not quite deep enough to do any real harm.

I looked at my sword, seeing blood coating the edge.

Then heard Xiahou Dun fall as well. I turned around, seeing him gripping his side. Seems I struck him good. I got up, using my sword as balance again.

"Surrender…Xiahou Dun" I told him, setting the chain back up quickly and pointing the spear at him. "Surrender and you'll live" Su and Shang Xiang appeared by my side, each one looking worse for wear. I saw Su had a few cuts along her arms and legs. Shang Xiang had a few on her legs.

"Hah, you want me…to surrender?" he stood up slowly, turning around and using his blade for balance. "I must go on" he whistled. "For my lord's dream!"

He held his hand out, grabbing the reins on the horse and letting himself be dragged off. I got my crossbow quickly, firing a bolt and missing.

Well, we're done with him. Gan and Tong ran back to me, smiling. I guess they took care of Cao Cao.

"We beat him…but unfortunately he escaped" Gan told us, brushing his cheek. Both of them had several wounds, nothing too threatening. Su ran up to Tong, the pair kissing each other.

"So we've won here?" I asked Gan. He nodded. "Thank god. I thought I wasn't going to last" I put my weapons away, putting my arm around Shang Xiang. Sun Quan, Zhou Tai and Lu Meng rode in, each one looking like they had taken a good couple of hits.

"Good work" Quan told us. We all did our little bow as he dismounted. "We've broken the enemy lines, but taken heavy casualties"

"We need to pull back my lord" I told him. He looked at me, smiling.

"Lu Meng informed me of the same course of action" Lu Meng stepped forward.

"If they follow, we'll hold them at Ru Xu Kou" he told us, smiling with his halberd over his back.

"Wei can have He Fei for now…we've kept them busy and taken some of their elite soldiers out" he got back on his horse, the other 2 following suit, and the trio riding off.

We all set up to leave, knowing that we wouldn't have long before the bigger, main force of Cao Cao's army would reach us. i looked between Su and Tong, seeing them next to each other, helping each other, recounting the battle. i looked at Shang Xiang, thinking about when to tell Quan to set the date...

one thing was for certain, my armour, having been cut from behind, side and other areas, was now ruined

* * *

_I don't really know how close to death I came_

_Frankly I don't care_

_As long as it works out in the end, I'll endure any pain._

_And I actually made it!!!!!_

_ONE BATTLE, SURVIVED UNTIL THE END, AND WON!!!!_

_I'M GONNA DRINK MYSELF SILLY WHEN I GET BACK_

_But I know Shang Xiang, to name one, wouldn't allow it._

_Not without a drinking contest TO THE DEATH..._

* * *

YES, the return of THE MASS OF CAPITAL LETTERS.

Moving on, So there. Done. Next chapter shoots over to Shu for a while.

I don't know how long it will be, but I may have to invent a battle or two, even things out.

and, as i said at the end, the armour is now broken, and so my look will change.

but that will be 'shown' when we return.


	39. our plans

To save time in future, as I've really had enough of saying it in story, if some of the people in the story are sparring, assume wooden weapons unless it specifically says iron or steel or whatever.

Right, onto Nu and Shu.

Chapter 38

Our plans and screw ups

* * *

_We'd all heard of Bei's request of Wu: the attack on He Fei_

_The main reason we knew was what was going on with us._

_Zhuge Liang took Zhang, Wei, Yun, Ma and Huang up north, hoping to make a dent on the enemy troops near Chang An._

_And the rest of us…well_

* * *

"You want to lead an attack on the southern tribes?" Shinra asked. Me and him were in the middle of a sparing session when Chen walked in and told us her plan. She nodded, smiling as she watched us. "Why?" Shinra had since changed his outfit a bit, going from his old clothes to some armoured sleeves, keeping a leather sleeve on each.

"You remember the time when you went to scout on them Shinra?" she asked back. I swung my bow blade down, which he blocked with his blades. He nodded, doing a backflip, knocking my blade upwards, and then following up with his old trick of a quick charge. Through some skill, I used the second blade to stop this, the weapons colliding in the air with some impact. "Well, I think we should push them back across the river" the river…what's so great about it?

"Chen, that's heading INTO the Tribal territories" Shinra replied. I went for a chest swing. He raised a blade in defence, using the other to try and hit me. When our weapons collided, I fell to the ground, dodging his blade and doing a sweeping kick. "Are you sure Lord Zhuge Liang…" he jumped my feet, trying to get me with a good swing. I rolled out of the way, seeing the weapons mere inches away from me. "…would approve of this?" I do remember the 'and if I'm there' clause on her strategist role thing.

"He'll approve" Chen started fanning herself with her greeny-blue pair, much like Xiao and Da Qiao used to do, whilst walking around. "In fact I'm sure he'll be impressed when he gets back from the northern campaigns" I chose to stay quiet about my previous thought.

"Well if we go…" I jumped back up, spinning round and slamming my bow blades into Shinra's, not noticing his preparation for such a tactic beforehand. He let one blade go, and then skilfully wedged the bow between his swords using the blades. He smiled, thinking he had won. I shoved my bow forward, hitting him squarely in the jaw. He recoiled as I went for another swing, this time holding the bow diagonally so both blades would hi at different heights. "…Would Lord Lui Bei…" he blocked them both, simply moving his swords to do so, and then prodding me with his blade when my back was turned. "Approve?" damn, that's 15-20

"He already has, so long as I can get some officers to aid me" well, that's handy. "Ping and Cai have already agreed to come along, but I was wondering…"

"You want us to come along" Shinra finished. I put the weapons back as he spoke.

"Well…it would be nice"

"I'm not exactly up for it" he turned to me. "What about you Nu?"

"It's something to do" I replied, grabbing my normal bow and putting it on my back. "I'm up for helping you out, so long as we don't get into too much trouble" Chen smiled even more at his.

"Thank you lady Nu" she bowed as she spoke. Shinra put his hand on his chin, placing his other hand underneath his elbow.

"I guess I'll come along" he submitted. "It'll give me a chance to try these new weapons of mine out"

"New weapons?" I asked him.

He moved his hands to his sides, smiling. He flicked his wrist up on his left hand, a sword shooting out of his armoured sleeve. He did the same with his other hand, another blade shooting out. He pushed them back in, smiling.

"It's not so hard to believe I've been hiding these under my armour" he told us. "But your faces tell all I need to know" I guess me and Chen were the same…our jaws dropped and eyes wide. "It's something I've been working on for a few years now…only just got it going"

"How long are those blades?" Chen asked. you might regret that girl.

"A tad bit longer then Gold Moon Dragon" Lui Bei's sword…hang on.

"Gold Moon Dragon is longer then your arm" I told him. He smiled as I said this.

"I know" holy hell, those are some long blades.

"But you've had those swords for ages now"

"Those weren't the new weapons"

He moved his left arm onto the back of his leg, pulling something up and looking around. He saw what looked like a chicken about to be killed in the kitchen. (Zhang Fei's orders. The kitchen must be near the training area or else 'he'll drag the wine and meat to the weapons' we thought he was joking but…)

"Watch the birdie" he told us. We watched him and it, the bird moving around, exploring its small expanse. Shinra looked like he was working things out, that thinking look on his face. Suddenly, he threw his arm up, then forward, and a long object shot out his hand, hitting the bird in the chest. The bird fell down with a caw, blood dripping out of its side. We kept looking as the spy smiled, his dagger sticking out of the creature.

"Been practising that for 2 years yesterday" he told us…wow, commitment. He must have loved the idea of using that, like I did with my bow. "I just haven't found any need to use them yet"

"I can see why, considering things have been pretty much peaceful since we took Cheng Du" I told him. He nodded, flipping two around in his hand.

"Imagine what'll happen when the enemy see me and the storm of blades" he looked to one side, smiling as he thought about it, and then looking back at us.

"Ok…that's nice to know" seems Shinra's in one of his moments.

"I'll get the men together for the battle" Chen told us, doing a bow and walking out. "Meet me at Luo castle; I'll bring Ping and Cai along with our troops" she then started running.

I turned to Shinra, seeing him now juggling about 10 daggers at once. I gave him my evil glare, the warrior catching his daggers and stopping. He put them away deftly, placing them into a pocket in his side.

"I'll go fetch my knife sheathes. That'll be better then fiddling about with a chain pocket" he told me. He then started leaving, to which I stopped him, placing my hand on his shoulder.

"Are we doing the right thing, Simon?" I asked him. I looked at the floor, my eyelids dropping with sorrow, for some reason. "Is Lui Bei really the one we should be following? Are we right to be in a different Nation to Craig?" he looked down as well, and then looked up.

"Do you believe this to be the right path?" he asked me. I looked at him, confused. "Do you think Lui Bei's dream is the right one: a place where everyone is treated fairly?" I nodded. "There is your answer"

"But how can you be sure?" I looked him in the eye. "How can we be sure that Craig isn't doing the right thing when he fights for Sun Quan?"

"Craig? Hah, please, he barely made it through He Fei…and that was his first battle intact for crying out loud" I could see where he was coming from "If Craig believes that his dream is right, then let him fight for it. I believe that Lui Bei should rule, that way this world is better off and we can go home with a united land behind us" well he definitely has ideas.

"So you don't mind if we had to fight him?"

"Sarah, if we fought him, It'd give me a chance to beat him" what? "While I wouldn't want to fight him, dilly dally shilly shally I suppose"

"Simon…"

"We do what we must" he put a fist to his chest. "That's what we have to do as soldiers of Shu"

"Erm…excuse me" oh no…why do I get the feeling I know who that was?

We both turned to the voice, seeing Chen standing there, looking shocked and surprised if that was possible. Oh jeez…we were saying our real names…and who knows how long she was standing there listening.

"Did I hear…you call each other…Simon and Sarah?" she asked…crap she heard that. "And who is…Craig?" Crap she heard everything.

"Chen it's hard to explain" Shinra told her.

"And then I doubt you'd believe us" I chipped in. Chen scratched the back of her head, thinking of something to say.

"I just came to tell you that we move out at midday" trying to get back to the normal. "So...erm…maybe you could explain after the battle?"

"We'll try to" Shinra told her. "But could you keep this a secret from everything? They'd think we were either traitors, spies or some crazy people if they found out" she nodded, running off.

"So half an hour" I told Shinra. He nodded, disappearing. "Now that's not fair"

"Get your things and get to Luo" his echoed voice replied. "We have work to do and we have to explain what's going on to Chen afterwards"

I nodded, running off to get my weapons and my horse.

* * *

_I don't think we actually thought about anyone being around_

_And then, who would listen to two officers having a private conversation?_

_I guess we have a lot to tell Chen when we get around to it_

_And maybe a lot to tell Fu afterwards._

* * *

So there we go, another battle on the way with Ping, Cai and the Shu OC's

Thanks for the ideas Lorze. (Note to self: plaster that name to your forehead so you don't forget it)

And this kinda rings everything that happened; with Simon getting armour sleeves with longswords inside…somehow…maybe he's breaking dimensions…wait maybe we already have…oh who cares, assume it works people

ASSUME IT WORKS.


	40. border dispute

I said to myself on Tuesday 'I'm gonna update this'

Now comes Thursday…nearly there.

And now, we move ahead in time, to the disputed territory between Shu and Nanman… wish I had Dynasty tactics going so I could choose a territory close by.

Chapter 39:

Border troubles

_We'd all heard of the nanman tribe and their exotic ways. All of the reports were from villagers living nearby. For instance, every year, a nanman head floats by in the river, due to some ritual they do._

_Interesting if true._

We marched to the battle field. Shinra did his old scouting routine on the way there, with Guan, Xing and myself keeping Chen company with our men…we didn't get our full units, due to this being a border dispute not a full blown war. At last count, with Chen needing EXACT numbers, we had around 2500 men. None of us were on horseback. My men were archers, Xing led spears, Guan and Shinra swords and Chen led pikemen.

2500…against a section of barbarians…this is going to be quick. Shinra reappeared in the middle of the road, all of us stopping as he approached.

"Ok, my job is done" he told Chen, pulling out a map. "They have around 4000, all stationed on our side of the river" he pointed the positions on the map. "Some are positioned in the bamboo forest, and are waiting for combat"

"So they know we're coming eventually" Chen summarised. Shinra nodded.

"They are all separated, but they are within reach of each other to reinforce the other camps" he put the map away, looking between us. "Judging on that…"

"Xing Cai, would you be willing to head to the east?" Chen turned around to her as she said this. "The nanman tribe has about 1000 there according to reports. Should be easy for you"

"Ok, I'll go" Xing replied, spinning her war fork around in her hand whilst getting her shield off her back.

"Guan Ping, could you go south east. Another camp along the river lies near a village, which just so happens to have a port?" she looked at the young man as he pulled the thick blade off his back. "We can cut off any reinforcements arriving by river and prevent their retreat via the same path"

"I'll get to it" he replied, swinging his blade down, then resting it on his shoulder.

"Shinra, try to get at those soldiers in the bamboo, keep your soldiers in the shadows and sneak to them"

"Like an assassin" Shinra replied, he shot a sword on each arm out, pulling them out and holding them. Each blade was black handled with a green blade. I remember him making them for battles in woodland. Harder to see apparently. "Easy"

"Nu, you'll go with me to the ones in the valley" she said that to me in a commanding voice for once. I think she want to keep an eye on me.

"Fair enough" I replied, pulling my bow off my back and setting the blades up.

"Check on the other camps once you are finished…let's move"

We all nodded, running off with our men in our given directions. Chen kept alongside me as we ran along, the men keeping pace with us. Her soldiers looked ready, holding their weapons point forward. My archers had their bows to hand, and held a shield on the aiming hand whilst a sword was sheathed on their legs. We all had to be ready for close quarters combat, I had my bow blades, what did they have apart from what they carried?

Most of the journey was in silence, only broken by our footsteps and armour. The terrain we were heading along was mountainous, with a single road travelling through the middle of them. We both stopped, the unit following our lead, as we came to said road.

"Keep an eye out on the sides of the road" she told me. I nodded, pulling an arrow out.

"I know" I told her, lining it up. "I don't want to get ambushed here either"

"Forgive me for assuming you didn't"

"You'd be surprised what I know" my unit followed my lead, keeping an eye on the sides of the road. "If they do attack, set up the pikes in a spear wall, and impale them"

"I do know that, Lady Nu"

I decided not to reply, walking ahead, my unit starting to move. Chen followed, her unit trying to move quietly so we could pick out enemy attacks if needed…only problem was quietly was hard for them, as they wore mostly plate armour.

It was tense walking through that one section. We only had 1000 men, to the enemy's 1000…and half of ours were archers, not properly armed for a melee. I looked around, keeping my bow up and aiming where I was looking. We got about halfway before I saw something. I signalled the troops to stop, crouching down and aiming.

It was a person…a man by the looks of things. He had no amour on, choosing to put only furs on his legs. He wore an animal's skull on his head and had some weird paint on his… muscular chest. My eyesight really has improved while using this bow, that's for sure.

Is he one of the nanman? Whatever he is, he is holding a spear in his hand…must be an enemy. I lined up my bow, aiming just above his head. Chen stopped me, shaking her head.

"If the camp is on the other side of that hill, he's a lookout" she told me, getting her swords out. "And if he dies, they'll be ready" I nodded, getting her meaning. I looked behind me, seeing the soldiers hiding, out of his sight. Somehow, this joker hadn't seen me and Chen. "Head to the right, up the mountain, and rain a few volleys upon their camp"

I nodded. That was a smart idea. I looked at the men, signalling mine to follow me, running up the mountain next to us, occasionally digging my blade in to help me get up. The other archers had as well, so I wasn't alone. Chen continued moving up, taking her pikes carefully forward.

I lost sight of her after a while, losing her behind the terrain. My men kept up with me somehow as we continued the long journey along the mountains. It was tiring, you' get that, and the length of time we went along certainly took it's toll. What I didn't get was what happened next.

"Lady Nu" a soldier started. I turned to him…no hold on, HER…wow, I have some women. "How much longer will we travel along this way?"

"Until we find the enemy camp" I replied, turning back. "We have to find this and put a stop to the raids before we can call Shu secure"

"And why don't you have a cover for your quiver my lady?" a what?

"A cover for my quiver…didn't know they had made any" I told her.

"We're all nimble fighters my lady, and we do what we can with out speed" she told me, showing me her quiver, which, sure enough, had a cap of sorts to keep her arrows in when not in use. "We all fight in a lot of different positions, I've heard of some fighting whilst doing flips and sorts, so we all got together and made these for archers" why don't I have one?

"I appear to have missed out on that" I told her. She smiled, pulling out a spare.

"Relax, my lady, I carry plenty of spares" she stood behind me, strapping it to my quiver whilst we kept moving. "I'm sure the girls won't mind" and then. "WILL YOU?!"

"NOO!" the unified women of my united shouted back. Wow, my unit actually has women.

"What is your name?" I asked the woman working on me…in the non-rude sense. She yanked at my back, tightening the quiver up (along with my bra strap twanging on my back as she let go).

"I am Ling Qui" she told me, stepping in front of me and bowing. I noticed some of her brown hair trailing from her helmet…rare for an archer to wear such a thing. "Born in Yi and supporter of Lui Bei" I think she was just saying that, but her voice had this sweet and innocent ring to it.

"Well, Ling Qui, thank you for the cover"

"No problem my lady. Be sure to use it"

We walked on further, each one of us aiming ahead of us, hoping to see the enemy before he saw us. We eventually found the campsite…if it could be called that. it was nothing more then where the enemy slept and kept their weapons and food…no seriously, that's it. The enemy slept rough? Who would do that?

We lined up on the edge of the area, loading up arrows and looking around. I saw Chen's unit nearby, keeping an eye out for us. I raised an arrow in the sun, using the glint to message her. After 3 flashes, I lowered the arrow, and then saw 3 glints back.

"Ready" I spoke, everyone notching an arrow to their bows. "Aim" we all raised our bows, the front line, including me, aimed straight at the camp. The 2nd line aimed the same way, except standing up. The rest of the lines aimed skyward so they would go over us and hit the enemy.

"FIRE!" I shouted. We all let our arrows loose. The first 2 ranks flying near enough straight down. We heard multiple screams as the arrows landed, Chen taking the moment to charge forward with her men, spinning her blades around as she moved. We fired a second volley as the enemy started becoming aware of us, grabbing weapons and running to fight. They seemed to split in two, half of them heading to us, the others to the pike unit. Some of the soldiers running at us had this strange wooden armour on.

"Weapons!" I shouted, covering my quiver quickly, firing one last arrow at an armoured foe. It dug in, going quite deep…but he kept coming, not stopping or even feeling the impact. The girls had gotten their swords out, ready for the enemy. "Let's Go!"

I shouted at the top of my voice as I got up, running at the enemy. The girls followed me, doing the same. We closed the gap to the enemy, getting a good swing ready as momentum aided us. The first one to attack me went for a leg sweep. I watched him, waiting for the right moment to strike.

He swung the weapon forward. I did a cartwheel, going airborne and dodging the point. I swung my weapon at his legs as the rest of my unit entered combat, batting spears to the side, firing arrows at point blank or just blocking them with the shields. I made my swing, the bow blade connecting with my targets leg and slicing through it slowly. That armour really made a difference against bows, not against swords. He fell to the ground, one foot where he was before, one foot still attached, blood spilling all over, some onto my face as I righted. I span around, cutting 3 more with the bow blades, seeing arms flying around with owners screaming in pain. I quickly grabbed an arrow, shooting an armoured soldier in the face. He fell with the missile in his eye, blood spurting onto my arm.

I turned around to try and find a new target…and felt a sharp pain in my leg…right where my old one was. I saw a nanman bastard spearing me in said area. I shouted in pain, pushing his weapon away. He went for another shot, but never actually got to.

"Lady Nu!" Chen shouted. She ran in, swinging one of her blades to cleave through the soldiers chest. He fell to the ground, blood landing on Chen's clothing. "Are you ok my lady?"

"I'm fine Chen" I got up, looking at the enemy lines. I pulled an arrow out quickly, shooting someone who was about to take a stab at her. "And you are now"

The enemy started surrounding us, both of us saw it. We both nodded to each other, moving to stand back to back. I flipped my bow around so I could fend them off easier. I saw two wanting to hit me, so I loaded an arrow quickly and fired at one. The other got to take a swung. I blocked it with my shield, and then stabbed him with a bow blade. Behind me I could see, just from the corner of my eye, Chen spinning her blades around, killing loads of the enemy, blood spurting off them onto us.

Eventually we found ourselves way outmatched as my turn and counter couldn't last forever. Chen was finding it increasingly hard to fend the enemy off, as the more we killed, the more that appeared to replace them. We looked at our lines, seeing the archers and pikemen both struggling to fight the enemy back.

I held my bow up to block an enemy attack…then found said weapon flying out of my hands. I looked at my foe, hoping to gauge his next move like Fu would do. But couldn't tell a thing. When he eventually went for a blow, a sharp dagger flew into his skull, dropping him instantly.

"CHEN, NU!" we heard someone shout. We saw out opponents slowly fall to a rain of daggers. One of the enemy, who the dagger simply dug into the armour of, charged at me. Suddenly, a dark figure appeared in front of him, slashing downwards, killing the bugger in one go. He stood up slowly, throwing my bow to me. "Keep a hold on this would you" I grabbed it, blocking an opponent from hitting him in the chest.

"Keep an eye on your ass" I told Shinra, shooting two more.

"We just need to finish up here Chen" he told our leader. "We haven't had too much trouble; these seem to be the toughest"

"So Guan and Xing are ok?" she asked. Shinra nodded, throwing two more daggers, followed by two loud groans and thuds.

"Let's finish these off then and get back to Cheng Du" I told them. They nodded…only to see the battle had ended.

We all reformed, with Shinra's 'Shadow soldiers' as they were known, joining us as well. Guan and Xing, despite some small injuries, were relatively unharmed. Their soldiers however, weren't so lucky. One was missing an ear, others were missing a nostril and among the most notable were a missing elbow…yeah, how they hit that SO specifically is beyond me.

We all agreed on one thing, we were done here. So now begins the march back to Cheng Du…

_Luck of the draw I suppose_

_But we didn't learn too much beyond the special armour_

_And then, what's it made from?_

_Maybe, we'll find out one day…_

If you moan about length, punctuation or OOCness, I have an excuse.

02:25…finish time.

Still, good to update.


	41. confessions 2

Right then…where was I?

Oh yeah, just after the skirmish…as short as it was.

It was only a skirmish against nanman…

Chapter 40:

* * *

Confessions

_We got back to Cheng Du before nightfall…all of us trying to avoid injuring ourselves any further_.

_And in all this, Chen kept silent_

_I didn't know why…I had an inkling, but would it be true…_

_And then, Simon and me had to explain to her about us._

* * *

"What do you think he'll say?" Ping asked me, as he did some defensive training and I did some archery. "You don't think Master Zhuge Liang will be angry do you?"

"I doubt it" I lined up my shot, waiting before firing to make sure I was in line. I let the arrow fly, the target getting struck dead centre. That's something Fu could never do, hit something far away with his weapon. "Not us anyway"

"What do you mean, Lady Nu?"

"I remember Zhuge Liang telling me, Ma and Chen herself when asked, that she could only lead an army with him around"

"And this counts because?"

"She led us to repel the Nanman, which is still leading an army" albeit a small squad of 5 officers with 500 men each. "I just hope Zhuge Liang isn't angry"

"He seemed calm when he walked in" Shinra told us, appear from behind me. somehow I maintained concentration and got a second shot off, hitting my first arrow. He tutted behind me, walking to one side. "That used to put you off" I pulled an arrow out of my quiver, working the cover with one hand as I worked to get used to it.

"It also used to annoy me" I kicked him VERY HARD in the crotch, enjoying the sound of him wincing in pain and hearing collapse behind me, trying to breath. "Oh wait it still does. Should have mentioned that"

"I….deserved that" he managed to wince out, before collapsing fully onto the ground.

We kept on going, with Shinra going to a corner to recover. I kept on practising with my bow, managing to hit the same spot 3 more times, each arrow stacking with the last. I fired a 4th extremely quickly, testing my quick fire accuracy. Somehow I managed to get a perfect shot, splitting the arrows directly down the centre. Yeah, I'm getting better.

"Last I heard, Zhuge Liang wanted to talk to Chen as soon as he walked in" Shinra finally told us. I turned to him, as did Ping, and we both saw him getting up slowly and carefully, making sure not to hurt himself in a certain area. "Said it had something to do with her conduct while he was out" he stood up fully. "Not in those exact words of course"

"I guess she is in trouble then" Ping guessed. I looked at him and nodded.

"The question now is how much trouble" I told him.

"Also, Chen wants to see us at the valley in 10 minutes…our normal meeting place" Shinra continued.

"Fair enough, let's wait for her there then" I looked at Ping. "Sorry, but we have to talk to Chen alone for a bit"

He nodded to us, getting back to training with his greatsword…or was it broadsword? I forget….something like flying dragon. With that in mind, we left for our spot…I'll skip the journey, but basically we found Chen there first, sitting down, arms crossed around her knees, looking upset.

"I guess Zhuge Liang chewed you out then" I told her. She didn't look at us but nodded.

"Apparently, I shouldn't have gone against his orders" she replied. Ouch. "He's disappointed in me…but it appears I'm fine otherwise"

"You were lucky it seems" Simon took his arm plating off, placing them by his side after he sat down. I placed my bow nearby, sitting down on the grass as well.

"I know"

"So the others…"

"They were ok with it, but apparently I went against Zhuge Liang's plan of 'attack the spirit'"

"And he's near enough the boss now" I looked up at the sky, thinking more of how to tell Chen then anything else.

"You know how Lui Bei looks upon that?"

"I know" the short story is not well. He placed EVERYTHING upon Zhuge Liang.

"You did well, Chen"

"Enough about me, I don't want to keep moaping" she looked between us, excitedly. "What about you two? You promised you'd tell me your story"

"Ah…that" Shinra scratched the back of his head as I looked at Chen.

"To put it bluntly, we're not from here" I told her. She looked at me confused as Simon…well, face palmed.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"We're from England…and an age ahead of this…as is Fu…or rather Craig"

"So Simon and Sarah…"

"Are our names back home" I finished. "Craig brought up an idea…that we were brought back here to end this war in unification…which will kill the other 2 sides…"

"He stayed in Wu, thinking they were right, while we came here, believing in our lord's dream" Simon finished. "There are apparently 2 more in wei, but we don't know for sure"

"So you two are from the future…with cars and all that technology?" Chen asked…what?

"How did you know about cars?" I asked her. She looked between us, smiling.

"I'm from the same age" she put her hands on her chest. "Born in Kedah in Malaysia, with a troubled past…Zuo Ci came to me and told me that my time was up" me and Simon exchanged confused looks. Chen looked between us. "What?"

"He told me about needing to prepare for something" I told her.

"I was told to do what was necessary" Simon told us. That was a new one.

"So we've been told different things" Chen surmised. We both nodded. "Why?"

"I guess the only way to find out is to live" I told them.

They both nodded, and we looked towards the east. Wu would be preparing…we knew it. Wei was as well.

But would Shu be ready?

* * *

_Chen being from our world was a brilliant turn of events._

_We're not alone in Shu anymore_

_Maybe this is what Craig Felt when he found Simon._

_I hope so…I hope so…_

* * *

I'm amazingly surprised no one has got the 3982679 thing yet. I'd have thought someone would have figured it out by now.

Anyway, Shu is done with for the time being. Yeah, not long, but with the little I can make, it might be wise to show what happens during proper major events. So, we'll be back after Fan, during Nanman campaign, possibly Tian Shui and Chen Cheng (spellings wrong, I know) and possibly some engagements along the years. Like yi ling an possibly after Bai Di.

Anywho, back to Wu now, and a few changes for a certain warrior.


	42. winds of change

Anyway, with the Shu side updated, we can get back to Wu, with Fu Xi and Laura.

Anyway, two quick 'plugs'. You know how this is inspired by Lorze the brook's warrior of art…well, it couldn't hurt to have a look could it? Go on, I'm not moving for a few hours.

Done? Ok. And also, look up 'Minako the dragon maiden of DW'. She a good writer, and owns Chen. Again, I'm not moving so you can look her up and read her stories POST HASTE!! DO IT!!!!!

Disclaimer, like anybody cares: I own Fu/me, Fei/Derrick, Ma/Melissa, the random OC's that no one else does, the storyline plot and ideas. Lorze owns Laura/Su, Minako owns Chen/Chen. Koei owns Dynasty warriors, and the three kingdoms are owned by China. I don't make money from this, this is a free fanfiction.

Now enjoy.

Chapter 41: winds of change

_A lot of things occurred to me after my armour broke at He Fei._

_It was designed for use with the great sword alone, not my new weapons._

_So, I did the only sane thing to do._

_Take a quick break…and see if I could help out anywhere._

Three men ran through the woodlands in the dark, fleeing from an unseen enemy. They would occasionally turn back, looking to see if their pursuers were catching up, then looking away to keep sprinting. They all held their axes firmly all the while, and their armour was of a lower quality to normal leather.

They came to a clearing, turning back one last time to see if they had lost the followers. They collapsed onto their backsides, breathing heavily as they let their weapons go.

"How many were there?" One of them asked. The other two stood up, keeping an eye out.

"We had over 70 men" one of them commented.

"How many!"

"I only saw one" the other told his ally.

"One man took down 70 men?"

"I'm afraid so" they heard a rustle nearby, grabbing weapons and looking towards it. "He can't be…"

From behind them, a silent bolt flew out of the undergrowth, hitting one of them in the back of the neck. The man held his wind pipe, gasping for breath as he impaled his palm on the bolts end. The other two heard his bloody gargles, turning around and seeing their partner, panic evident on their face.

"Where is he?" one of the pair asked. The duo stepped apart, taking separate sides of the clearing.

"He is near" the second replied, standing walking by a bush. Suddenly, a sharp spear end came from the bush, impaling the axe man in the chest. The spear and man were pulled back in, and the man died silently. The third heard his friend, looking around in alarm.

"Where are you!" he shouted, looking around quickly. "Show yourself!" a rustle was evident from the tree line ahead of him. "Come out and Fight coward!" a figure dressed in jet black, with a cloak along with black fingerless gauntlets, with bracers and a spear attached to his right hand gauntlet, silently appeared in the undergrowth behind the man, silently drawing a longsword from within it. "Where are you?" he figure put his head by the side of the mans face, his black hair over his right eye.

"I'm right behind you" the figure whispered, before swiftly stabbing him through the chest with his blade. The axe man fell limp, dropping his weapon with a soft clatter. The swordsman pulled his blade out of his prey, looking around to make sure he was done.

You may be thinking 'who is the new guy?' Well, that's me. After He Fei, I did a lot of resting, as my back injury needed to heal. I learnt a lot from the books, but nothing much else. We all took time out really, getting things together for coming campaigns and such. It's been 3 months since the day I almost died…in fact 3 months today. I found myself with nothing better to do then to give the new armour a go.

You see, with the back swipe that Zhang Liao did when I was fighting him alongside Su, my amour was ruined, broken nearly beyond repair. I had two choices: get it fixed or get some new armour for my new weapons. And that's how we get here.

My jacket…or rather cloak or cape or whatever you want to call it, even though it is near enough a long leather jacket. Anyway, the jacket is leather with a lot of plating. However, it is still as flexible as normal, despite the heavier armour. I can barely feel it myself.

Just about everything on me is leather with some sort of very useful metal, being very strong and flexible presumably. My jacket has been very useful so far, being able to hide everything apart from my greatsword beneath its black wings. I still place my spear on the outside though, easier to grab then having to fiddle with your armour. That and the chain has to trail down somewhere. I'm thankful it trails behind my leg., and is attached to the gauntlet to begin with so no worries.

My crossbow bolt's quiver is sewn into the right side of the inside of my jacket, with a handy holder on my leg for the weapon itself. There is also a random pocket in my left for my ocarina, which was almost always in there. Yeah, I like it, and am definitely getting better with it…then again, when trying to learn modern songs, self taught with no guidelines and a rubbish memory…not always going to sound right

Anyway, these guys here that I killed…bandits. They've been raiding the local supply base and farmsteads for a while now. On my fifth trip after my wounds finally healed, along with getting my new stuff, Quan sent me out to stop them…and that's that I suppose.

I didn't actually know that this was being made. I was stuck in the infirmary for about a week. Shang Xiang actually went about with Gan to Xing Hai. The river master actually had some business to attend to with his girlfriend. (Business being the wrong word might I add, you should know what I mean considering he's a young man, as is Xing….except young woman, obviously)

She paid for my exotic piece of armour, which is absolutely brand spanking new might I add, and considering that this seems to be the past, MAY be breaking history a little, as I don't recall any metal covered by leather material (dubbed black iron…even though it makes it seem a bit old). When I recovered and returned to my room (broken armour and weapons included) the suit was on my bed, along with a note telling me how much I owed her for ordering it. (Which basically gave me a choice between a sizable sum or a date (not exact words mind you). as it were, Being a cheap person…I chose the date (…What? it was enemy funds she used))

I placed my sword back in its sheath, letting the blade clean itself against the side. I'll clean the blood of later if need be, nothing like blood for rust. The spear stays on my arm as a means of…well…carrying easily. We still haven't had that date, but the plan was to go and enjoy the sights of the coastline, including one of Shang Xiang's favourite spots and plan our wedding day.

You might think planning is a bit early, given the fact that we haven't even got a date, but with Su's marriage coming soon to Ling Tong, we had an excuse to plan both. With all the hustle and bustle, guess where I've been shoved so far.

Ok, keep that in your head and I'll tell you on the day. I left the clearing, headed towards Hell runner so I could get back to the palace. I looked back to the clearing only once. The dead were still dead; don't know why I did then but still.

I sent three letters to Nu and Shinra over in Shu in the time I was in the medical wing. And you know how many I got back: zilch, zippo, nadder, nothing. I'm starting to worry about the pair.

"Don't not concern yourself with them" I heard a voice near me speak…it sounded like…no…Zuo Ci? "They will be fine, so long as the kingdom holds"

"But what if the kingdom doesn't hold?" I asked, hoping he was speaking to me and it wasn't just my imagination.

"History will write itself as men determine it" he told me. "The three kingdoms may live as Sun Quan desires. However, it may yet be restored to the Han, as Lui Bei dreams. But then it may be moved on to an age where talent outshines status, as Cao Cao reveries"

"So we write history as we wish in a sense" I summarized, hearing him hmming a yes. "But how do we know that we won't have a negative effect on history?"

"You don't, and won't, until you return to your own age" makes sense I suppose. "Be aware, from now on, I can no longer promise any sense of protection" what? You were actually doing something? "If you should see me on the battlefield, then assume me to be watching it"

"Why are you telling me this?"

"The winds of change are blowing through the land" I coughed to clear my throat. "What happens from now on will have a major effect on the rest of the land" I heard him chuckle to himself. "The marriage between Su and Ling Tong, your marriage to Lady Shang Xiang, and the kingdoms choices in the battles ahead" I saw a card floating in front of me. "Remember this: fate can change at the turn of a card"

I grabbed it, flipping it over in my hand…

A tarot card…the tower…I don't know my tarot that well, but this sent a shiver down my spine.

The winds blew again as I held the card still in my hand…seems they are blowing…but to what end?

_With that card, I knew something bad was going to happen._

_Zuo Ci had been in our age, what's to say he doesn't travel through time freely?_

_Maybe he had seen the future…_

_And maybe it led to our defeat…_

To those who don't know what I means, look up the tower tarot card. That's all I'm going to say.


	43. the first

YES, I'm alive and kicking *kicks self* ouch. Shouldn't have done that. things have been going mental these days. College is getting hard with C++ programming, I got a psp and FF13 *fangasms*

Anyway, yet again, need to point out Lorze and Minako. READ THEIR FICS, THIS STORY WILL STILL BE AROUND WHEN YOU GET BACK! UNLESS YOU SOMEHOW LOSE THE INTERNET OR CIVILISATION ENDS!

Disclaimer…yeah…I own DW. Yeah, and Prince Charles is my cousin, some bloke has a kill streak of over 9000(!) on MW2 and I'm an ancient hero in disguise. I also own an MS.

You can't spell disclaimer without lame.

There is a more mature moment implied here, along with small descriptions. You have been warned so only complain if you don't like it.

Chapter 42

The first

_When It came to time to settle down for the evening, Shang Xiang and I both agreed to start sharing rooms._

_So now, most of the room is cluttered with books, scrolls and bed linen._

_Yeah, we got a bigger bed not to soon. Gotta love the perks._

_That was probably the first night it happened._

A thunderstorm had hit Jiang Dong. Everyone was inside as black skies were ruled by clashes of thunder and lightning as they duelled in the heavens. The lightning danced across the sky with the thunder warning us of it's decent.

This storm had everyone indoors, with soldiers putting out lights to see in the night shift. Naturally, you'd expect me and/or Shang Xiang to be on guard duty.

And, naturally, you'd be dead wrong.

We were busy running out of palace under the cover of the storm. I didn't know where to, all I knew was we were going there to enjoy ourselves. We dashed out of the palace on foot, taking our small weapons with us just in case we ran into bandits or such.

Shang Xiang charged out into the waterfall first, laughing as she did so. After a while, she turned to gesture to me to follow. I nodded, charging out and feeling a second skin of water busy applying itself to my clothes and my skin. My hair getting a thoroughly good wash out of this.

We escaped from the city via an unguarded and unlit west gate. Every footstep we made beyond it squelched as we stood on the unguarded mud. We kept going, ignoring the fact that if we went too far, we'd be unable to return while this storm raged.

Either that or we intended not to return for a while.

We made our way to the watery spot where we often get together to enjoy a bit of alone time. You know, where Gan, Ling, Shang Xiang and I had the swimming session. We walked on though, heading toward the waterfall itself. She jumped through it, followed closely by me.

Thankfully, we didn't hit a stone wall; more went through the falls and ending up in a cave of sorts.

"Seems we forgot a light" Shang Xiang moaned. I raised the spear, putting my inner abilities into it, lighting it up with my fire.

"Oh look, some fire" I told her, smiling as the cave lit up. "Now we can see where we're going"

"Clever boots" doesn't sound as good as clever clogs.

"So how long has this cave been here?" she looked at me as I led the way, our footsteps and voices echoing.

"I don't know; I've only just found this myself" great, so this could lead anywhere. "What do you say to taking a look around?"

I nodded, excited at the prospect of exploring this cave.

And, to my disappointment, it simply turned around a few times. That was literally it. We came to a dead end in the cave, my spear lighting nothing but wall.

"Well, seems we found the end" I told her. she smiled, standing in front of me.

"If that's just it…" she undid the back of her top, pulling it off. I'm gonna spare you the details, but you can guess what I did.

To skip a long event, we basically did what you think we did, lying down in the cave, her head on my chest with our clothes thrown about the section. We were both breathing heavily, looking at each other.

"That...was great" I told her. I smiled as widely as I could. "We should…do this…more often"

"I agree" she panted, looking at me. "Can we… sleep here… tonight?"

"Seems like…no other choice" I kissed her, our tongues exploring each others mouths. When we finally parted, she got up, placing her knees either side of my legs, towering over me with her arms behind her back.

"I love you" she told me, putting her hands down behind her. I got up to kiss her again.

"I love you too"

I went back down to the ground, keeping my eyes on the beauty before me. She smiled, looking as if she were preparing to go for another round.

Suddenly, she pulled a dagger from nowhere, bringing it down sharply and quickly upon my stomach. I shouted in pain as the steel dug in, missing vital organs but definitely doing some damage. I looked at it, seeing it dug in far enough to be stopping any bleeding.

"Shang Xiang…" I breathed, looking at my lover and attacker. "Why?"

"This is because I love you" she told me, pulling another dagger out. "This way, we don't have to fight in any more battles. We can be together forever" My goddesses, she's insane! I placed my hand on the daggers handle, starting to pull the weapon out, grunting in pain as, inch by inch, it slowly moved, a crimson blade revealing itself. Shang Xiang held the 2nd dagger in her hands, pointing towards her. She breathed, moving her hands away from her.

"I will see you soon my love" she spoke, then plunging the dagger into her heart. She collapsed instantly, the dagger leaving space for blood to trickle out. She collapsed next to me, looking serenely happy.

I froze, seeing the love of my life dead next to me, the dagger becoming loose enough to pull out easily. I threw the blade to one side, dragging myself so I could check up on her.

"Shang Xiang?" I asked her, rolling her over. A trail of blood oozed from her mouth, and the dagger was now going through her back. "Shang Xiang!" I started to feel weak, placing my hand on my chest. "Why…did you…"

The rest is black, as I blacked out, landing on the chest (well, a certain area of it) with a thud.

I took a sharp breath in as my world returned to normal, sitting straight up and looking around. No wound, no cave, no weapons. I looked to my side, seeing my love asleep, looking like she was in a serene place.

I got out of bed as quietly as possible, heading to the balcony (yes, her room has one) and looking out. What the hell did I just see? Will I have sex with my partner, and then get killed by her straight afterwards? I rubbed my eyes, feeling sleep coming again.

"I don't understand" I said to myself, looking at the moon. "Just what was I meant to be seeing?" I looked down, scratching my arm. "I guess I'd better do some hunting tomorrow, see if I can find this cave"

I heard some movement behind me, turning around and seeing Shang Xiang curling up in bed, trying to get warmer. Maybe I'm just over thinking this. I walk quietly over to the bed, getting back in and cuddling up next to her.

Whatever that was meant to show, I don't buy it.

_The first dream._

_The one that freaked me out the most_

_But that was because it made no sense._

_Why would Shang Xiang want to love me then kill me?_

_Is something bad going to happen?_

Ok, now, taking into account that it wasn't meant to be 'lemon' filled, was that going too far. I'm not planning on doing too many things like that, as the sex side of things not my cup of tea so to speak. If that shouldn't have been in at all IYO then do tell me.

And Lorze, you torment Su physically (yes, the lake is still going to happen) and I torment mine mentally whats worse then having visions of bad intentions? Well, getting killed in them but still. My point still stands.


	44. fears

Before I start, OC recruitment entry thingy is terminated, any new requests will be sent to Lu Bu, isn't that right buddy?

Lu Bu: it is. I'll cleave them in two.

His words, not mine.

Something tells me in the back of my head 'UPDATE THIS STORY'. How longs it been going? A year or so now? Hard to believe it's been going for so long and doing so well. But enough with my little thought.

Chapter 43:

Fears

_What do you do when you see what I did?_

_How are you supposed to think straight?_

_The love of your life kills you in your dreams._

_I did the only thing I knew for any kind of help_

Getting up before Shang Xiang is not something I normally do. Most of the time if I'm up she's been up for a while. So imagine my surprise to be up at the crack of dawn, standing on the balcony looking out at the land…with my lady still sleeping silently.

I needed time to think. Time to understand what I had seen. Time to get my head straight and to know what to do next. I wandered in as silently as possibly, slipping on some casual clothes (a just not leather but deeper red version of my battle armour) and going back out.

Who would know what to do in a moment like this? Who would know what the right course of action is? Who would have some advice for me given the situation?

Actually, maybe the question should really be who is wise and can give advice that would help?

Back home, this would be James, Mum or a teacher.

Well, I suppose this world puts the last two out of the question. But James…who would help a brother out?

The brother should be the biggest hint, if you can't figure it out.

I walked back in, throwing my casual clothes off and grabbing my normal clothes. I strapped every piece on, leaving my boots off but carrying them so I could put them on outside. I tiptoed my way out of the room, a few creaking floorboards nearly giving me away as I pulled the door open and closed as I crept out.

I never thought I'd sneak out on her, not this early on in this relationship. I placed my boots down, now regretting the idea of having steel set on the front as they landed heavily on the ground. The floorboards creaked like hell as they landed. I gasped as I looked into the room after this, seeing her spreading out over the bed.

Why am I leaving her? Maybe because I need answers. As I finally get my boots on I near enough run straight to Quan's room. Half the palace fly by as I do, zooming by. I found that Tong and Su were in my path, side by side, with a basket and crate next to Su, blocking the corridor.

"Hi Su! Hi Tong!" I shout, the pair seeing me run towards them. "Sorry, gotta be places!" I jumped onto the basket, then onto the crate, then jumping over the pair. "Nice morning isn't it?!" I roll as land, neatly carrying on my run. "Talk to you later!"

"Fu!" Tong shouted. Su shouted something as well, but I charged around the corner too quickly to hear.

"SORRY!" I shout back.

Now, considering how big this palace is, I didn't run into too many people. Maybe everyone's busy doing stuff outside the palace…OH! Su and Tong's wedding is coming up soon. Damn, I forgot about that. Man I'm going to have to learn some good tunes for that. Then again, I might have to organise what's going on with the Qiao Sisters, hopefully I'm not too late to do my bit. And yeah, Xiao has a sister called Da. She kept herself to herself since Ce died. Xiao, Su and company visited her quite often, and she has recently been starting to come out of her shell as it were. I can only imagine her pain after losing her husband. I had heard they had a child but I've yet to meet her.

Hang on. Quan's room. As I try to stop, I think I hit a wet patch as I slide along the floor going straight by and banging into possibly the worst thing you possibly could.

Zhou Tai.

Yeah, the killer bodyguard. He is still armed and appears to have been up for a while. As we both hit the ground, the first I feel of him is a dull point in my back…ok, he's either happy to see me or that's his scabbard…and either way that is bad news. Actually not so bad if its option A, but then again he knows I'm taken so…epp.

I shot up quickly, turning around and seeing that it was option C: one I hadn't thought of. His boot. Phew…oh wait…then he definitely is not happy to see me and more then likely going to attack me. Oh jeez. He gets up slowly, drawing his sword and looking at me, intent to attack in his eye.

Oh shit. He goes for a quick swing, to which I jumped back in response. I felt the blade skim my arm as he swung. This time, instead of leaving him to carry on his attack, I did a quick back flip, placing my hands on the floor and kicking his sword upwards, then continuing with my other leg to smash his arm. He groaned as the steel went flying upwards, then moaned even more as my leg collided with his arm (from both of us, not just him in pain, but me from hitting quite tough armour, not to mention that he's not exactly a slouch.

As I right, his blade sticks into the ceiling. Zhou Tai looks at me as this happens, disbelief in his eye.

"This has happened so many times that I'm used to it" I tell him, scratching the back of my head. "I just thought fight back instead of run away" he grunts, the look of anger leaving his eyes as he stands up and pulls the blade out of the ceiling, sliding it back into his scabbard

"…Fine…" he speaks, going to a neutral stance. "Apologies…"

"Yeah, sorry for that too, mate" I do a small bow. "I would never do anything like that on purpose" just who the hell polished the floor? THAT'S the person I'm going to kill. Then again, why was I running so fast? Heh, the eternal loop of not my fault it was his. Remind me to keep out of it. He bows back, putting his blade back by his side. "Anyway, I need to see Quan. It's important"

He nodded, walking over to and knocking on the door. I went extremely carefully, trying not to slip on the polished floor again. After a small pause, the body guard opened the door, Quan on the other side putting his clothes on.

"My lord…Fu Xi…" he spoke. Quan nodded, turning around whilst throwing on the arm plates.

"Let him in" he replied.

Zhou nodded, moving out of the way of the door to let me in. I walked into the fancy room, seeing various ornate and exotic pieces spread around the room. The tiger skin rug on the floor was a neat idea, along with the massive slidey doors. The bed itself was near enough a modern 4 poster bed; large with those strange curtain things…what are they? Drapes? Meh, I really don't mind what there called, I don't have them so…

"Good morning brother" Quan spoke, flexing his hand inside his gauntlet.

"Morning, Quan" I replied. He pulled a seat out, motioning to another one for me to sit on. "Thanks"

"What brings you here this fine morning?"

"Well…" may as well start things off light. "Two things really. You know the marriage ceremony coming up between Tong and Su?"

"I was wondering when you'd ask about it" he smiled whilst telling me. He pulled a scroll out of his armour, handing it to me. "Do you think you can learn that in time?"

I opened the scroll, seeing it as a sort of complex song sheet. Let's see…D to D# to F…yeah, should be simple enough. Might take a while to learn altogether but it can be done.

"Given Time I can…why do you ask?" I replied. He smiled, nodding his head.

"The Qiaos are thinking of having you in the music band during the day" he replied.

"They want me to play the ocarina?" he nodded. "What? On my own or in a group?"

"They have a group of minstrels and bards ready to sing and play and what not" oh so I'd be hidden in a group. Sneaky.

"Well, I'll be sure to be prepared for it" I rolled the scroll back up and placed it in my pocket. "Tell them I'll get back to them when I'm ready" he nodded, smiling.

"I'll be sure to tell them" he leaned forward as he finished. "Now, what is the second thing you wanted to talk about?"

Now here's a good question that you can answer for me: how do you tell the brother of the person you love that you had a dream about the person you love killing you and themselves?

I leaned back, trying to think of how to start recounting the tale.

"You might want to lean back for this" I started, looking away. "what I'm about to tell you isn't pretty in anyway shape or form…and I'm finding it hard to put it into words that won't be as hurtful as it already feels" he leaned back, making sure he was stable as he readied. I think he could tell what I was going to say was bad, as he went from a look of joy to a look of interest, curiosity and wonder, along with possible fear.

"If it helps brother" he started, rubbing his chin with his hand. "Tell me it as bluntly as you can…I won't hold it against you"

That made it easier. I stood up, walking to the window. I had to make sure I worded this right; otherwise, Quan might not be able to help.

"I had a strange dream last night" I told him, then shaking my head. "No…more a nightmare" now how to proceed from here, the easy part. "It was a stormy night, with loads of rain and thunder and whatnot. Shang Xiang and myself went running out in it, heading to our usual spot to get some alone time" at least I suppose it was for some alone time. Then again, maybe it's obvious considering what we got up to.

I know you don't want to be bored with details of what I told him, so to shorten it, I basically told him everything that happened. I didn't look at him throughout my regaling of the terror. When I finished, I noticed that there was no more bird song. All was silent, even life within the palace seemed to have gone still. The only noises I heard were Quan and my own breathing, along with my heartbeat. After what felt like eternity's end, he finally spoke.

"I'm glad you told me" he spoke. I turned slightly to look at him, seeing him holding his hand, his elbows on his knees so they formed an upside down V. "I think anyone would be scare by this type of thing…and not sharing would drive one insane" you telling that to someone who has travelled through time, apparently, from about 2000 years ahead of the current age…you'd think I were insane if I told you that.

"Shang Xiang saw the same thing" Quan continued. Huh? I looked at him properly, turning to look at him.

"What?"

"Shang Xiang had the same dream…except the other way around" I kill her? But I would never… "She was also distressed at how real it seemed" the same with me.

"When did she have her dream?"

"You remember when you nearly died at He Fei?" Don't remind me. "She confessed to me about your history…and how the dreams started when you both confessed to loving each other" so a few months…I'll let her off for telling Quan. It's only fair he knows I suppose. After all, if I do disappear after all of this fighting… best not to think about it.

"So you know how I'm practically from another world?" he nodded. Wow, I'm surprised he hasn't exploded from the fact that I'm some sort of foreigner, in more then one sense. "And to be honest, it all made sense, that's the only reason I haven't had some sort of…information flood"

"I can understand how strange it seems" I told him. "But I had to go through the same thing coming here"

"I appreciate that…and I will be keeping it silent" thanks Quan. I owe you so much. "But getting back to the matter at hand, I have to ask you for details" details?

"What good will that do?"

"If there are any differences between your dreams besides the obvious aesthetics, that will help us find out if they are going to happen or not" oh yeah, that's believe these days. Well from personal experience, life can be like that, dreams can come true, in more then one sense. Think Déjà vu. Well I used to have that hell of a lot.

"Details…let's see…what do you think would help?"

"Well, what was in the cave?"

"A few turns…then a dead end…which is where me and Shang Xiang had our fun"

"What did she say before she stabbed you?"

"I love you. To which I replied I love you too"

"What was said after she did the deed?" which one? Oh wait…the stabbing.

"I ask her why…to which she replied 'this is because I love you'" I paused to fight back a tear. "This way we don't have to fight any more battles'" again, I paused to fight back a tear…but this time failed. "'We can be together forever' then she pulled a second dagger out, pointing it at her chest… and simply said 'I will see you soon my love' and plunged it into her heart" now I was letting some tears flow. "The scary thing is…she looked almost serene as she lay dead beside me" Quan looked shaken by my statement, but not surprised. "Quan…I'm scared of what this means"

"I am too…but your dream and Sister's…they are exactly the same" what? I fought back some more tears out of surprise.

"What do you…?"

"She spoke of you doing and saying the exact same thing" he stood up, walking out onto the balcony, looking out onto the now lively city. "Just using short sword and stabbing her in the lung, while you used your own sword to slit your own throat" wow, we have twisted dreams. "When it comes down to it, everything is the same except the finer details" that is a very….well, good point. But then again, when it comes to finer details, in this case who cares. "Doesn't that strike you as odd?"

"Quan, the entire thing strikes me as odd" from how I got here to now. But enough about the story of my life, this does strike as odd considering. "But seeing as we're having near enough the same dream, is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"I don't know" you're so helpful you know that. "But I think I know someone or something that may help" this should be good.

"Go on"

"If you and Sister go to the cave, look around it and see if the details match what you saw in the dream" he looked at me, seriously. "But do keep sister safe. She's the world to me now that brother and father have gone"

"Hey, what kind of soldier would I be if I let my lord down? And what kind of man lets their love die?" no, seriously, I don't want her to die. He smiled as I said this, to which we both bowed to each other.

"Just remember…if the dream does come true…then that would mean…"

"I know, the death of me and your sister" I gave him a smile, holding my fist up. "But trust me, I'll break fate"

I walked out, leaving Quan and Tai behind. If Shang Xiang wasn't up by now, I'd have to get her up so we could investigate this cave.

_How cheesy a line was that?_

_I'll break fate_

_But still, I didn't know how close I was when I said that_

_To how much I would be doing in future._

God, wall o text and speaking…and I've got the corn to do soon…NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

And Lorze, my sneaky way into your wedding, hehehe.

That music group was a very fine weakness. Good thing I practised. (as in, Fu practised)

But still there's the corn of Su and Tong, the corn of Me and Shang Xiang…and another Corn episode that has yet to come to light (NOT in Wu) and possibly two.

I shouldn't have asked for OCs lol.

Anyway, after this, something tells me I'm gonna have to bring in some sort of cave adventure…hey, I wonder if Yuki…no, wait, wrong game…how about Light…no wrong game again…erm…Dark…no wrong story…erm…

Hold on, I'll try and find some random person to bring along.

Anyway, I need to get moving. It's not everyday you need to make a war fic that's trying to get close to real life with magic, charge abilities and time travel darker…hang on…


	45. diamond in the rough

Must stop listening to music and get to work on this.

Hang on…the magic of multitasking.

Where was I again…oh yeah

* * *

Chapter 44:

Diamond in the rough…

_To say I was frightened by what I thought we'd find was an understatement_

_I was also scared witless about the dream coming true_

_But with Shang Xiang by my side and my promise to Quan_

_I wasn't about to let some fate stop me._

_I have two promises to keep._

Shang Xiang was ready to go by the time I got back. She looked at me as I opened the door, giving me a worried look. She was sitting on the end of the bed, and I can guess she was thinking while I was gone. I sat next to her, giving her a quick hug. She responded, holding me in her arms.

"I was beginning to think you'd abandoned me" she told me. I shook my head.

"Like I could ever do that" I replied, patting her on the back. "Quan would probably kill me for hurting you like that" she gave a small chuckle before letting me go and pulling back. I let her go, looking at her. "Quan told me what you told him" she gave me a relieved look as I said it. "And…I had the same thing…" she looked scared at this. "Obviously with details switched" she nodded. "And he thinks we should go and check this place out…see if it matches what we have seen and such"

She nodded, silently standing up to which I followed suit. She grabbed her chakam as I grabbed my weapons, strapping them to my belt and back in silence. This wasn't how couples were meant to be…surrounded in silence because of some weird dream. But that's how much it shook us, obviously.

"That reminds me" Shang Xiang spoke. I was pulling my boot on at the time, looking at her whilst pulling the straps around. "Quan's moving out to the southern territories soon, to push Nanman out of our lands" sounds interesting. "According to the plans, Tong and Gan arrive with our reinforcements from He Fei, Su is moving out with Meng, Xun and Zhou" ok, still listening. "From the sound of things, their going to be gone for a while, getting there and back and such. Especially Tong and Gan" she stopped there, doing a few stretches.

"What about us?" I asked. Shang Xiang looked at me oddly, before putting a hand on my back.

"After He Fei, he decided you needed a break" what? "He said you had had a hard time and…well, this is only a small battle so you can rest and heal that wound"

"This wound is fine" I told her, she took her hand off me as I stood up, pulling the back of my clothing up to show her the injury. In my opinion…and that of the doctors, it had healed up fine…the only thing is, compared with what my time considers fine and now are not too different…there are odd traces of blood but the pressure applied by the armour allows me to have something on it, soaking up the blood and keeping pressure on the wound. Shang Xiang placed a finger on it, and I suppressed a wince.

"It does look a lot better then 3 months ago" Thank you. "But haven't you been involved in just about every single battle Wu has been involved in?"

"Err…no…that and...The escape from Xu Chang and the burning of Bo Wan Po" I gave her a smile as I said this, to which she tilted her head. "But to compare, Quan has balanced it with very easy guard duties" better not mention I've done more then my share.

"I've heard stories about that" Oh dear. We started walking out at this point, heading to the stables. I heard a loud horn in the background, signalling the army's march. So they've gone then, that's nice. "Apparently you've been doing a lot more training with soldiers whilst out then you should have been"

"I can tell you honestly, I have not been doing that" phew, so close. "I do…occasionally help the troops train, but that's VERY rarely" must think fast, be ready to counter what she says.

"So back in Jing when you were riding back and fought off the bandits from that homestead…" oh that.

"After Chi Bi…I just wanted to protect people" I told her…I'll be honest, I want that to be my reason, but I honestly can't remember what it was. Shang Xiang threw herself at me, her arms around my waist.

"My hero is someone else's hero" she spoke. I smiled, brushing her hair.

"I'm not the demon of Wu for no reason" hang on… Shang Xiang looked at me at this point, giving me a confused look.

"You know, why are you called the Demon of Wu" hmm. That is a good question.

"I have no idea" I told her. "To say I'm a demon is to assume I'm evil, ugly, horned and such" Shang Xiang playfully punched me at this lot, to which I smiled.

"Well, do you follow any demon traits?" very good question, let's see.

"Well…I'm evil in the eyes of Wei and possibly Shu" she nodded; I looked at her whilst thinking. "I may be ugly" she gave me a playful punch. "I would say something about horned but that might get me in trouble with a lot of people" She gave me a few playful punches for that. I looked at her, giving her an evil smile.

I gave her a playful punch back, to which she gave me 3. I raised my eyebrows whilst reaching my arm around under her legs and picking her up, slinging her over my shoulder and running down the corridor. She was laughing like hell, somehow worming her way out of my grip and getting her legs around my back.

"RUN, HELL RUNNER! CHASE AWAY THE DEMONS OF THIS WORLD!" she bellowed at the top of her voice. I stopped, doing the best 'neigh' I could and running as fast as I could, holding her legs so she wouldn't fall.

Times like this, you know they won't last in this job, so you'd better enjoy them while they last. I made my way around the palace, going the long way around so she'd enjoy it a lot longer. Eventually I got to the stables, walking up alongside her horse and giving a neigh. She pulled her legs out of my arms and climbing the horse, giving me and it a stroke.

"Good boy" I gave a neigh as she said this, smiling whilst breathing. "So, where was this cave again?"

"Our usual spot" I told her, running over to my horse, grabbing the reins and climbing onto hell runner (how ironic now) "The spring in the forest, just south of Jing Xian" yeah, I finally learned the name of the nearby town…it is one HELL of a trek there though, I guess we got lucky with travel being easy. Either that or we aren't that far from it. Either way I have a map handy if we get lost. "Come on, the sooner we go the sooner we can put this to bed" I urged hell runner on, Shang Xiang following alongside.

"Hey, you know what you said about the demon?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"What if we come up with a different name for you instead of that?" I'm content with it to be honest.

"We'll see. To be honest, I don't mind my name, but if you can come up with a better one, I'll take it"

_You know, looking back, I should have gone alone._

_That way, if it was going to happen, it wouldn't happen then._

_But I couldn't leave her in the lurch_

_I have to keep my promise._


	46. underdark

Every chapter brings me closer to Nanman

Every chapter brings me a new idea

And every chapter is credit to story

* * *

For lulz: disclaimer: I only own Fu/me Fei/Derrick and Ma/Mellissa. Unless Sarah Simon, Chen and Laura are somehow my slaves. I don't own Koei, dynasty warriors, China, dragons, clown shoes, sanity or that guy who's standing behind you right now with the knife. (Wait a second…clown shoes?)

* * *

ok, just to warn you guys, this chapter has another moment of WTFness, lots of old blood and dead people in odd moments. you've been warned

* * *

Chapter 45

Underdark

_The amount of times we had been there and we hadn't noticed_

_A cave in the falls_

_Well now, with our destinies tied to this place_

_We would have to dive head first through

* * *

_

The roar of the waterfall filled both of our ears as we stood in front of it. Both Shang Xiang and I had gauged the fall in the past, and figured out that if it were to be as short as it appears, my spear would stop with the end of the wood sticking out.

I pulled the gauntlet on, making sure it was nice and comfy, along with secure. I looked at Shang Xiang, flexing my arm.

"You ready?" I asked her. She looked at me, shaking her head. "What's wrong?" she gave me a long sigh.

"It's just…if this fate comes true…" she started, stopping at that point. I stopped her, placing a finger on her mouth, then placing my hand on hers.

"Hey, come on" I told her, hoping it would calm her down. "If it happens, we can fight it. Ok?" she nodded, but not convincingly. Stay strong Xiang. We'll make it through this in one piece. "Right, time to let Dragon Talon fly and see what lies within" yeah, I named it. So what? I had to eventually. The greatsword is Dragon Claw and the long sword is Dragon Fang….you know how history views dragons, right? Beings of almighty power and that sort of thing.

Moving on, as I may be digressing a little too much. I threw my arm forward, letting the spear fly into the waterfall, honestly hoping that this cave was nothing but a dream. A figment of the imagination two people just imagined in a nightmare for some unknown reason (but then again how do you explain dreams?). That it was nothing but a spectre of a doubt we both held about each other that we were too stubborn or too unwilling to see.

How annoyed I was when the spear flew too far for the waterfall to be in front of only the rocks it stood in front of. The chain pulled tight on my arm, letting me know the pole arm had hit its mark. I looked at Shang Xiang, nodding to give her an unspoken sign.

"I guess I'll see you inside then" she told me, backing up and getting ready for a run up. I pulled my spear back, bracing for the impact on my arm.

"Shout if it's safe" I told her, the spear replacing itself on my arm with NO pain (remind me to tell Su she was right about this no pain thing to do with this spear).

She ran forward, Chakam in hands, towards the falls, jumping at the last second and being swallowed by the blue tongue of the beast, disappearing into the unseen depths with a loud crash as the water surrounded her whole, leaving nothing but the misty water droplets floating in the air.

I waited in the….well, not silence but you know what I mean, for what felt like an age, moving out the way of the waterfall for good reason, placing my back against a tree. After a while…probably a minute, one of her chakam came flying out, embedding itself, blade down, in the dirt in front of where I had been standing. Well, if that's not a signal I don't know what is. I walked over to it, picking it up and twirling it in my hand.

"Guess she's safe" I said to myself, backing up and running forward. "Here goes" I jumped, the falls swallowing me whole as I went through the watery shadow. When I got to the other side, Shang Xiang was there, soaked to the skin but otherwise fine. She held her hand out smiling. "This is yours then" I gave it to her, shaking my head, then looking around.

Surely enough, this place was as dark as hell, and sure enough, my natural response was lighting my spear up to give us a field of view. And sure enough we followed it, tracing its patterns back and forth once again.

When we got to where we were in the dream when we killed each other, we both stopped…the room had had some occupants recently…

...suffice to say they didn't like the service…

…it was like a scene from a horror film, two people on the ground, one has a split stomach….the other…slit throat…they were both naked…one blood soaked woman, who had the slit throat, and….either very flat chested woman or a man…the amount of blood around the privates makes it hard to tell either way…if it is a man, he had a very painful death with a split chest and his pair cut off. If it's a woman, the blood from her partner must have dripped down onto her.

I looked away from the bodies at this, holding back vomit and such. The amount of blood here….its almost impossible…and, upon closer inspection with me bending down and Shang Xiang finding a clear corner and putting her head between her legs to suppress being sick, it's dry.

These two must have been dead a while.

"I'm not an expert…but I'd say these two have been dead…about 1 month or two. Maybe more" I told Shang Xiang, manning up and turning round to look at the bodies again. "The pair look like they were having fun" a lot of blood is dried around the woman's….well….womanhood. I think it's save to say that's where his manhood went. "Seems like they had sex then" I looked at the pairs hands, seeing a knife in the left hand of the woman. "Jane Doe here pulls a knife from somewhere…then does this"

You know, I've held a lot of faith in humanity over the years, always believed in the best will happen and such…but this…my god what happened? Was she high or something? As I turn his arms over, there are no cuts or slashes on his skin. "No defensive wounds, he was either helpless or she just got to him first" you know, looking at these two…the hair looks like…ours. He has mine, she has his…I pull the girl's eyes open…No. no way.

"She has your eyes" I told Shang Xiang. She stood up, obviously shaken by the experience so far.

"What does that have to do with anything?" she asked, looking around the cave.

"She looks like you Shang Xiang" I told her, then looking at the guy. "Which means he looks like me" I heard something move near Shang Xiang, looking at her moving some untouched armour.

"They were from the military" she told me, holding up a shield and showing it to me. "The emblem…its Wu's"

"Which means…this was two Wu soldiers killing after sex" was he THAT bad in bed lass? "You know…this might have been what we saw"

"What?"

"Our dream…we saw two different things, right?" she nodded. "Well, what if the general gist was this happened?" she nodded, getting what I meant.

"Well, your dream was right, so….are you a seer along with a druid?" seer? Oh.

"In the….past I suppose, I've had dreams that lead to Déjà vu moments" she looked at me, confused. "You feel like you've been there before…so if you felt like you done something before on the battle field when you hadn't….setting off a trap for instance" she nodded, now sorta getting it. "The thing is…if these two were what I saw…then why did I see it?" Shang Xiang looked around quickly, raising an eyebrow.

"What's that?" she asked.

I turned around, seeing a shadowy figure in the distance, holding a lantern of some sort. He turned around, running away, his footsteps echoing. I bolted up, both of us chasing after him.

"Hold on, wait!" I shouted, turning the corner quickly, he kept on running, with Shang Xiang getting ahead of me. We followed him through the cramped cave, following his light as he lit up new ways for us to go. We followed the tunnels, going who knows how deep.

Shang went around a corner quicker then me, getting ahead and closer to him. As she left my view, I heard the footsteps getting fainter and fainter. Eventually, I heard a loud thud. The footsteps stopping.

I turned a corner whilst running, not seeing Shang Xiang stopped next to a wall. I crashed into her, pushing her against the wall with my whole mass behind me. we stood for a few seconds, our brains computing what had just happened.

"Well, Fu" Shang Xiang finally spoke. "I knew you wanted me against the wall, but I thought you were waiting until marriage for that" I backed away quickly, my face getting noticeably warmer.

"My apologies" I told her. She turned to me, red faced as well. "Where did he go?"

"Through there" she banged her fist against the rock face. "He went through and…I don't know, the rock kinda….lowered quickly, cutting us off from him" it's a door? I walked over to it, banging my fist against it.

"It feels like stone to me"

"But it closed, I swear it"

"Shang Xiang…the amount that's happened to me over the last few years, I'm believing you" I bent down, placing my fingers at the bottom and trying to lift the thing up to no avail. "But right now, it seems we're out of tunnels"

"What about down there?" she told me, walking down a new section. I followed her, keeping my sword handy, just in case.

This new section was strange. I didn't need to light anything up as the moss seemed to glow a bouquet of varying colors, lighting up the section. The rock was almost shining, from either liquids of unknown nature or the rock itself. Our footsteps didn't sound like they were on rock, they sounded like they were on some sand or something like that, and the air…it felt like a cloud and smelt like a rose garden.

"This…is beyond weird" I spoke, circling as I walked so we didn't get snuck up on.

"Fu…that's not the least of it" Shang Xiang replied. "Look"

I turned around, seeing a massive amount of text on the wall in front. We both stopped, looking at it. A lot of it was random images. The symbol for omega, two swords clashing, an eagle, a wing and so forth, a small part of it was text. Shang Xiang took a closer look whilst I stood guard.

"Let's see…it's a scripture of some sort" she told me, running her finger along the words. "Old Chinese. Whoever this was knew the old language"

"Less admiring and more reading if you will princess" I know I'm going to get hit for that remark later; I could hear her grind her teeth.

"Seems more like…a diary"

"Maybe the person we chased"

"Maybe…hold on and I'll get reading" she was silent for a bit after this, which I didn't really mind. This place had so many wonders I could get lost in it. As I waited a ball of white light flew in front of my face, making me flinch from surprise. I backed up, watching the light split into the whole spectrum of colour. Loads of…presumably, bugs flying around. They made neat formations starting with a circle, flying around, following one another in the air. Shang Xiang started again before they continued. "ok, here goes… 'I've spent god knows how long in this God-less realm of war and terror. As far as the clergy are concerned, out operations are secret. The land cannot know what we do or else we…'" she paused, turning to me. "Punish the evil doer in our ranks?"

"Sounds like a cult so far" I replied, keeping an eye on her and the way we came. "Keep going"

"'as long as we keep our weapons in their Alteisen state'?" she turned to me.

"Alteisen means old iron"

"'They will let us know when the time of the Weissritter is near'?"

"White knight"

"'I have been here for over 4 generations right now, and still I have yet to see when this Weissritter appears. I grow tired as both time and health flee me. I know that my time is short. I hope that whoever returns to this post after I return to the Valshiress will fulfil my duty'"

"Ok, now that is just plain creepy" I told her, hearing her taking a step back.

"You know what this means right?"

"No"

"This means we were meant to stay away from here. Something didn't want us to find this place"

"Or something wanted us to find it and gave us the dream of the couple"

"This is…too much…I mean…." she froze up, throwing her hands up in the air. "….first the dream, now this place….its like your becoming a seer"

"A seer? Come on, I only saw one thing"

But still….come on…this place is almost maddening" I could tell she wanted to leave the subject, so tried to joke about it.

"Meh, change the lights to light bulbs and this kinda feels like home" bad joke?

"Let's get out of here…I'm sure brother wants to see us at Nan Zhong soon"

I looked at her, nodding as I put my blade away. As we turned to leave, I stopped, seeing something glint from the corner of my eye. I walked over to it, bending down and picking it up…a mini book…obviously made for keeping small notes…but…with proper paper…you know, like the lined variety back home. Best not to mind rape Shang Xiang too much right now. I threw it into my pocket quickly, running for the entrance.

_All of this hidden beneath Wu._

_A world of wonders and life beyond belief._

_But the text said it all._

_Something was amiss in china…_

_Besides the war of course._


	47. happy times

Chapter 46:

Happy times

_With Nan Zhong around the proverbial corner, I had two things on my mind_

_First was obvious, how we would fair in the battle to come._

_The second…well, that might be obvious as well_

_When would I actually get time to practise the song?_

_But I had other things to worry about…_

It was a long trip from the cave to the area of Nan Zhong, and, to be honest, I don't think we felt like talking. We rode as hard as we could to catch up to the main force, riding by civilians and such as we did so.

The terrain did steadily change as we moved. It went from the normal forests and plains that we knew and loved to jungles, marshes….you name it. The temperature was rising as we moved and the air felt….humider? Is that the word?

Whatever the case, in 4 days riding, we caught up with the main army. They had managed to set up camp near a river in the area. I gave it a quick once over, seeing how fast the current was flowing and how little leeway we'd have if we fell in. I tested it by throwing in my spear. I nearly regretted it as my spear almost dragged me into the flow.

I'm not kidding. I had to dig my blade into the dirt to stay on the ground.

After this moment of shenanigans, I went straight to the war council, taking my seat in the tent next to Shang Xiang with Lu Meng, Lu Xun….Zhuge Jin standing to Quan's right and Zhou Tai to his left. Su was opposite Quan, looking downhearted for some reason…maybe she's missing Tong…Wouldn't blame her really.

"Ok, now everyone is here, we can begin the council" Quan spoke. Everyone did a small bow to him, with which he looked around the table. "How stands the enemy?"

"My lord" Meng got the pieces out once more as he spoke, placing them down. Now, with Wei, they had at least some cavalry to use so they got some pieces of them, right. Well…

These guys…they were all swordsmen. No horses at all…ok…well…

He then placed ours, giving us two units of infantry, a unit of cavalry and a unit of archers, along with a final unit of swords. He placed two horses at the sides of the map, out the way of the rest.

Ok, this is a basic layout of the battle. Our camp, with Quan in side with his swords, along with Zhou and the infantry, was blocked off on two sides with large walls of wood and such. The only access was a small bridge with which Shang Xiang, Su and Meng would start at. I was to be deployed along side Shang Xiang with Xun along with Meng and Jin with Quan.

The enemy were deployed south of our position, trailing through the jungle climate and wrapping to the east, with a lot of harsh terrain blocking us off from them. From what I'd seen, It was most likely some very very VERY steep hills and things like that.

"From what the scouts have reported, the enemy is primitive and disorganised." Meng reported, looking around us as he spoke. "However, they are numerous and zealous. Our friends in Shu have reported-"

"They are willing to fight to the last man, no matter how bad the situation is" we heard a familiar feminine voice speak…is that who I think it is?

Everyone turned to the entrance, wondering who would wonder into our meeting in the middle of a report. Imagine my surprise to see a certain battle maiden wearing green leather armour and holding a shield, with a rapier at her side and a bow and quiver on her back. She wore leggings and had long brown hair. Well I'll be...

"Sorry I'm late Lord Sun Quan" she spoke, her voice now sounding more regal then before. "I had a little trouble with some of the locals on my way here" Quan nodded.

"It's good to see you again Lady Nu Wa" he replied. Wait? THIS is Nu? I looked at Shang Xiang, jaw dropped, eyes, focused….brain shutdown.

has currently…oh wait, no computers, can't use that one…erm…quick Craig, think of something along those lines… I think the room got that I was shocked, with everyone looking at me.

"Aren't you going to say hi Fu Xi?" She asked me. I looked back at the girl I once knew, seeing a woman who had undergone several…enlargements. Quick, engage the brain and say something that would sound meaningful and…

Ok, I have to ask, what do you say to the girl you travelled either through time or to another world with, fought alongside in your first battle, protected, guarded and got saved by, and then went separate ways after deciding that different ideals were right and finally haven't spoken to in god knows how long?

"H-Hi Nu…how've you been?" I asked.

Yeah…way to be smooth Craig, way to be smooth. Now if you can try and make this situation even more awkward then go right ahead, you'll achieve your goal of your relationships with 2 people, one of them being your girlfriend.

"I've been fine…and Lui Bei sent me as part of the alliance to help with Nanman" so Zhuge Liang had a part in this then….damn he wants the tribes taken down. "Shinra is busy keeping an eye on Wei for us and Chen is busy learning from the lord strategist in her learnings" Chen?

"Have you brought any other men with you Nu?" Meng asked. She shook her head, looking at the strategist.

"All I have are what you see on me now" travel light I suppose. "And that is all I need" I raised an eyebrow at this.

"So Lui Bei can't spring for troops now? Even though we're allies?" I asked.

"He's busy covering our ass in Jing. Guan Yu is busy pushing Wei out of Fan and it's taking more men then we first anticipated" answer: no he can't pull his own weight; he wants us to do it for him. "Whatever the case, what's the plan here?"

"Simple, push in and take them out" Lu Meng explained. "We're anticipating reinforcements if we should struggle, but our advance forces should be able to more then handle issues on the front"

"We don't know what to anticipate here" Quan commented, looking around us. "All we know is what our allies in Shu have told us" Nu gave a small sigh at this…is something up? "We leave at Dawn tomorrow. That gives us the rest of today to practise and ready ourselves for combat" I look over the map on more time as Quan begins to stand. There seems to be a hole in this plan.

"No, wait" I tell him. He looks at me, sitting down once more. "What is this?" I point to a small square to the west of our camp. Lu Meng takes a closer look, as does Xun.

"Ah…It's an old supply base that was left behind during previous invasions of this area" Xun informs me…the remains of a supply base. "It still holds supplies if the scout report was correct"

"Then why are we leaving it alone?" I asked, looking around. "If we take it we have supplies for future battles along with this one. Heck, more morale for the men" they all nodded, seeing my logic.

"Seems like a plan that would stick out to the average tactician. If I may so comment" Nu spoke. Shang Xiang seemed angered by this, judging on how she is now grabbing my hand. "Makes it seem like you meant to miss that out Lord Lu Meng"

Shang Xiang, now gripping my hand tighter, looked at me, her and Lu Meng. The strategist for this army had missed such a simple scheme….seemed off…hang on.

"Lu Meng, were you told to keep that little tibit of information from us?" I asked him. He nodded, looking at me and scratching the back of his head.

"Seems Lord Sun Quan wants you practising how to plan battles and such" oh that again. "He had it worked into our plan of course, with Ling Tong securing it when he arrived"

"You're training Fu to be a strategist?" Nu asked, then laughing. "Come on, of all the people to choose, why him? I think even Gan could do better" ok, now Shang Xiang is breaking my hand.

"Whatever the case" I started, looking around. "Let's get ready…it's going to be a long day tomorrow"

"You know it" Nu spoke, looking around. "Although, if this is all you've got, I think you'll need my help quite a bit" for the love of…

"Don't you ever shut up?" Su asked, standing up and turning to face Su. "Jeez, you come here and practically insult our forces with no reason to"

"And you are?"

"Su Zhi" Nu blinked twice, thinking of who this was. "And I'm a lot better then you" oh boy, here it comes.

"I've never heard of you"

"Nor I of you" ok, do I dare correct either of them? "But I'm not one who abandoned my forces with no warning for some landless lord on a whim" ouch.

"Lady Nu, Lady Su, Please, can you argue somewhere else?" Xun asked, standing up and walking over to them. "I doubt the lords would want to see you arguing here"

Somehow, Xun managed to get them both out of the tent with little trouble, the pair arguing as they did so. I sighed after they left, looking at the group.

"Don't you just love happy reunions?"

_Nu…how she had changed_

_And Quan…why is he still trying to make me a strategist?_

_I knew either way I'd have some work to do_

_Both when catching up and practising…_


	48. catching up

Chapter 47:

Catching up.

_You know, I'm hoping that things are going to be easy when I get married_

_As far as I know, I'm going to be practising a lot._

_And then there's training and that wall on top._

_Maybe I should just focus on the now until things quieten down._

I had a choice between two things…talking to Nu and catching up with her, or practising for Su's wedding.

Seems a simple choice when you think that, under what I think she's like at the moment, she'd strangle me and then torture me through the ancient (or rather, new) art of paper-cuts from scrolls or worse if I put a single note wrong, which she'd have to be skilled to actually notice that I had put a note wrong but still, I'd rather not take the risk.

I found a space behind the camp, near, what was proven to be, a freshwater lake. How did we prove it? Well, you can lead a horse to water….then leave it alone until it drinks. It's a crude method I know, so I don't follow it. But some of the lower ranks aren't that proud.

I managed to find a quiet space near some trees where I could roll out the music sheet and practise in peace and quiet, allowing me to concentrate. This was going to be hard enough to learn, never mind memorise for live show. I placed my back against a tree, holding the ocarina in front of my lips and breathing deeply, relaxing.

Ok…time to do this…

I put my lips on the ocarina, keeping an eye on the song sheet as I did so, blotting out the rest of the world around me, and playing the best I could. As I got further into the song, I started to realise something.

It's a song from back home…just…ocarinaised? Is that even a word? I recognised the song too well considering it was one of my faves…how was this back here? This is starting to be weird. That's 2 songs back here, Nanaku no Hana and this (Nanaku no Hana was the 'you must run away' song that Shang Xiang sings a lot). And both have been well known along with missing a few instruments (no shit)

I stopped after a few bars, lowering the ocarina and breathing again. Why is here? More to the point why is it that it is being used for what is pretty much a wedding reception?

I sighed in annoyance, putting away my ocarina and picking up my 'hip flask'…well it may as well be, opening it up and having a quick swing of wine. As I drank I somehow found my gaze looking back to the stars, like I used to when I first got here. I lowered my flask, putting it down and reminiscing in my head about what I had left behind.

Mum…what would she think of me now? The soldier I'd always wanted to be but in life threatening situations just about everyday. James…how would he see me as in my current role? My friends….do they even know I'm gone? I picked up Dragon Claw in my hand off the ground, flipping it around in my hand.

All the time I lived at home I wanted to be in the military and liked learning about medieval weapons…now I have both in ancient times…and now I just want to live a normal life…

"You enjoying yourself over here?" I heard someone ask. I looked towards it, seeing Nu walking towards me from the treeline.

"You could say that" I replied, putting my blade back down.

"You got room for one more?" I paused before answering, looking back at the music sheet…just thinking about it; this is the third thing, learning to play the ocarina….and this I don't have to give up either way.

"If you want you can…I'm kinda busy but still…the company is nice" I turned away, putting the ocarina back to my lips and taking a breath, beginning to play once more. Nu grabbed a space nearby, taking her bow off her back and unstrapping her sword, shield and quiver, then sitting down.

I have to be honest, as I start playing once more, this time only occasionally looking at the score sheet. It is quite nice to be able to just relax like this. To just play a song and relax with friends… I wish I could do it more often with the guys I know from back home…I wonder how Shi- no…Simon would react, seeing me as I am right now…I bet he'd freak…

As I finish the song, I breathe, taking the ocarina away from my lips. I lean back on the tree once more, letting my hands just drop onto the ground. So now I know I can play this song….but can I do it in the wedding ceremony…should be fun dodging daggers, knives, bolts, arrows, spears and god knows what else Su will throw at me if I fail.

"You always wanted to do this sort of thing back home" Nu spoke, looking down. "And now here you are"

"I have to ask one serious question" I started, looking at her. "How's your leg?" she looked up, turning to me surprised.

"I guess you heard about it" she commented, scratching the back of her head.

"Heard? Shinra nearly lost a damn arm. And then you also got injured in the thigh?" I half asked. She nodded, lifting her left leg up.

"It's nothing but it's on here" she tapped the plate, lowering her leg afterwards. "You seem to have faired the best out of all of us" I gave a small huff at this.

"Nu, I have a scarred face. I'm lucky I didn't lose an eye"

"That's exactly my point. Me and Shinra have injuries that might affect us. You don't…unless that wound bleeds sometimes"

"It does…not often though….and I don't notice it until it gets really bad and I see blood drops on my eyelashes" like I said, it doesn't happen too often. "I just don't get why you didn't tell me. You know I'm looking out for you"

"Fu…we're in different sides…I can't tell you about everything anymore"

"Why not?"

"We're soldiers…we fight who we must"

"But you remember our promise…right?" Nu grabbed her own hip flask, taking a long swig and looking at me afterwards.

"Yes….but can you pull through with it?"

"If we fight…we fight…I'll be honest I'm gonna struggle to do it, but I'll save everyone I can" I held my fist up, giving her a determined smile. "I'll break fate if needed" Nu gave a small chuckle, taking another swig.

"Lui Bei and Sun Quan made a deal over this battle…he was to lend officers, of which only one was available, to Wu for this battle…in exchange the same number officers provided would aid in a battle in the north of Shu" so a swap of service.

"Let me guess…Quan promised me…" she nodded. "Joy…more travelling"

"Yeah, well, from the sound of it, you'll be used quickly and then sent back"

"Even better"

"Will you lighten up? Trust me; you're going to love seeing what Cheng Du is like. Yi is a beautiful place."

"Nu…how can I?" I paused, looking at her face, seeing her shrink back. "Since coming here I've killed loads of people in the line of duty…I can't relax anymore, not with the world how it is"

"So…what if I showed you how to relax in Shu?" I looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Whilst you're in Shu, what If you come along and get shown around, doing what we do for fun and such" sounds like an offer.

"I have to be ready for Su's wedding…"

"Well…keep it in mind, alright"

"Fine…"

We sat in silence from there, thoughts swam through my mind about how it could play out in Shu. If I had joined Shu with Nu and Shinra after Chi Bi, how would our situation have changed? I know for one I would not be with Shang Xiang, and I doubt I'd have met Su off the battlefield.

And then…there's the other side of thing. Would I have been able to save Nu and Shinra from their injuries? Would Su have been to handle Zhang Liao without me? Would I actually still be standing? For all I know I could have been killed in the many battles they've had establishing Shu and whatnot.

"Be honest" Nu started. I looked at her, absentminded, lost in thought and however you want to describe it. "How do I look…after all these years?" she blushed as she asked this, and I also felt my face heat up, turning my gaze away…musta drunk too much. How the hell do I answer something like that and still cling to the ledge which I call partnership….especially with Quan being the brother of the woman I might offend.

Which would be the lesser of the two evils? Offending Shu or Offending Wu…let's just tell her as a friend….and try not to make it look like I'm coming onto her.

"I'll be perfectly honest…Sarah" I started. Yes, using her real name again. "I think…if you were a flower, you've definitely come into full bloom" the way her face lit up, I can safely say: PLEASE INSERT SUCCESS MUSIC HERE! (Maybe something along the Zelda line….actually, however the hell I remember THAT of all things right now)

"Ahh" wow, such a fulfilling response… must resist urge to press onward with that line. "To think we used to make such a cute couple"

"Huh?" where the feck did that come from? She realised what she'd said, her face filling with shock then waving her arms mentally.

"Nothing, nothing, just ignore me!" she turned away quickly, looking towards the lake. Her expression changed as soon as she did so, with me taking a quick swig of wine (remind me to fill this thing with water next time…blah). "Erm…what is that?"

I looked at Nu as she said that, not expecting anything from her line. I looked towards the lake.

A body lay facedown in the water…

_Something about that offer rang out._

_Was it a ploy, an offer, a bait?_

_Did she want me to defect?_

_Whatever the case, she'll fail._

_I have things to do over here…_

_And we can only succeed with all three kingdoms in contact_

Abrupt end for a reason, you'll see next time.


	49. threat

All I'm going to say is this

Laura: please don't kill me for this…

Chapter 48

Threat

_Even in this close knit group_

_There were things that I would never have learnt without hunting._

I dashed for the water, throwing my gear off as I did so, with Nu close behind me, loading up an arrow.

"Get ready to fish me out!" I shouted, diving into the cold drink with Nu shouting something behind me. I moved through the dark ether towards the body, hearing muffled shouting from the archer.

I surfaced next to the body, water trailing off my face as I breathed deeply, shivering as I did so. "Jeez it's cold" I commented.

"Well I tried to warn you" Nu retorted, to which I groaned, grabbing the body in the water and flipping him over.

We both gasped he flipped over.

I say he, but it turned out not to be.

It was more her.

More specifically….

…Su.

I grabbed her by her arms, pulling her carefully towards me. I looked over her body, seeing no movement, gritting my teeth against the cold. I heard the ping of a bow string, followed by the feeling of water splashing my arm as the arrow fired, along with rope. I turned to Nu, seeing her dropping her bow with the rope tied to her waist.

"Tie her on!" she ordered. I nodded, grabbing the rope and hurriedly running it up to the arrow, untying the rope and reattaching it to the unconscious girl.

"Done!" I shouted, grabbing Su's waist and pulling her towards the shore. Nu was pulling with all her might, running backwards as well to get her to the bank.

When I got within reach, I picked her up, dragging her up the bank to an area away from the water, the wet stuff dripping from our bodies quite noisily as I did so. As I let her go, we dashed around to her sides, checking for a pulse.

"It's there but faint" Nu told me. I nodded, giving her quick CPR.

"…12…14….20…" I counted, mentally filling the gaps, compressing her chest on every mental count. On 20 I kneeled down, opening her mouth and breathing deeply.

I can't believe I'm doing this…I shook my head.

I did the good old mouth to mouth, feeling her cold lips upon mine. How long had she been in there? I repeated the mouth to mouth, rising up and recompressing her chest. I saw Nu smile from my eye corner.

"You're enjoying this aren't you" she told me. I gave her an evil glare, raising my eyebrows.

"What part of saving someone's life do I have to enjoy?" I retorted, shaking my head. "If I have to be a hero, so be it" 10, 11, 12.

"You were never this eager to snog someone back at school" 15, 16, 17.

"This isn't school" 18, 19, 20. Repeating the MTM and back to compressions. "I don't think that getting in with someone is as important as SAVING THEIR LIFE!" 5, 6, 9….huh? Nu gave me a confused look.

"What, so back then you didn't think of getting a girlfriend?" what does that (12, 13, 14) have to do with anything?

"Do I have to dignify that with an answer?" I asked. She nodded. Sarah? I sighed. "Sar, you know what I was like back then. I never really had many friends, and I was….unique" 3, 2 (16, 17, 18) 1

"More like downright weird" called it. 20.

I took a deep breath, doing the MTM again, my hopes of bringing her back fading fast. I rose. No response. I gritted my teeth, knowing this would be my last chance. I breathed as deeply as humanly possible, breathing into her with everything I had.

Suddenly, she moved. I moved away, letting her cough up what water she had in her lungs. I smiled, breathing whilst turning to Su. She smiled as well, standing up.

"I'll fetch Lord Quan" she told us, running off towards the camp, bow in hand. "Have fun"

"Nu!" I shouted. Su continued coughing, to which I patted her back. "You alright Su?"

"Well…" she started, coughing in between words. "I've been nearly drowned….Tong is miles away for ages and….to top it all…that bitch tries to be the hero" shouldn't that be heroine? Why am I thinking that now?

"I mean, aside from that?" she gave me a glance, raising an eyebrow.

"Just peachy" she sounded pissed. Well, she's her normal self I suppose. She stood up slowly, her hair still dripping with the wet stuff.

"You're lucky Nu found you. I didn't even know you were in the water"

"Last I knew I wasn't" I stood up, grabbing my stuff and reattaching it. "Last I knew I was sat on a slope down into the river….then….I guess I got knocked out"

"And here I fought that would douse your fiery plans" a womanly voice spoke. it had a kind of fire to it. Like determined and confident.

Su and I instinctively drew weapons, moving back to back as we did so. We both scanned around for an intruder, not seeing a thing. Suddenly, a blur flew out of the undergrowth. I raised my spear, hearing something dig into the wood. I looked at it….a knife? I heard loads of shrill noises.

"Get down!" I shouted, turning around and tackling Su down, hundreds of knives flew over our heads, each of them barely missing us as they cut my hair (how kind, a hair cut). They stopped suddenly, the both of us standing back up.

"Just warn me next time" Su moaned. "But thanks"

"You're welcome. That's two in one night by the way" I replied, smiling.

"ha ha" sarcastic much.

"You two are good….I guess I'll see you later hot stuff" who me? "And the girl as well" whoo hoo, a secret….lover….stalker….murderer…person.

"May I suggest we play it safe and RUN!" I shouted, looking at her.

"Agreed"

_so someone I haven't met wants to kill me, finds me attractive, is good with knives and is a woman._

_What man DOESN'T find that sexy so far?_

_Ok, maybe if they were friendly, but still._


	50. The Zealous Tribe

Hey look, writing some chapters for Hope Amidst chaos helped me with this :D

now let's hope this keeps up. I am going to scrap some ideas I had for this Fic though, but I'm going to catch up with someone...at the very least, I'm going to make it to Fan. If I scrap half the interim stuff I'll be dandy...might need to lose half the Shu stuff though, so...well, it'll have been a waste putting them up. Sorry folks.

And I've just realized, my image for the story...it's a trophy from Warriors Orochi 3. I didn't know until I unlocked it lol. Just thought it suited.

Chapter 49

The zealous tribe

_The rest of the night passed with no other incident._

_Su recovered, but we didn't know what had happened._

_We had the ambusher to deal with, and had no idea who it was_

_and we had a fight on our hands. Nice to know things don't change._

We all awoke early in the morning, quickly readying up and getting ready to fight. Shang Xiang was put in a tent with Su to try and help her with her Tong issues...wow that sounds like a bad pun. I was in a tent with Nu, finding that the space I had was rapidly eroded by her moving steadily closer. It got worse in the morning when we readied up, with her moving around constantly as she fought with the individual bits, strapping a quiver to her back as she did so. I managed to stay in one corner, strapping everything into place, getting my greatsword ready on my back along with my sword and spear on my sides.

"We've got a long battle ahead of us" I told her, breaking the silence.

"I know...these fanatics won't go down without a fight" She replied, putting her rapier and her shield on her side. "Zhuge Liang gave me some advice...not sure if we'll need it though"

"Just tell me anyway" I stood back up fully. "Never know if we'll need it or not"

"Just generally be careful of their beasts" She told me. I turned around, putting my crossbow and bolt quiver on my side, sighing.

"That's it? Really?" She turned to me, nodding. "Joy, the great Sleeping Dragon Sleeping on the job-" as soon as I said that, a spear came flying through the canvas, landing directly in front of me. I blinked twice, raising my eyebrow to Nu. "Let me guess, don't underestimate them" I grabbed my great sword, Nu grabbing her bow and an arrow, charging out of the tent. "Head to the drum. Seems the sentries are down"

"On it!"

She charged off to Quan's tent, leaving me alone to deal with this as I needed to. And how was the best way to deal with an issue of flying spears? The doctor prescribes more iron in their blood. I heard a few screams as I grabbed my blade firmly, turning towards it and seeing five...men. The only real way I can describe them is tribesmen. They wore very little armor, and what armor they did wear was wood. They were brown...I presume a tan. The most civilized thing they had were the weapons, which were iron. Heck, these guys were charging at me with a sword each.

The one leading leaped at me, literally jumping up and bringing his blade back ready to strike. I smiled, swinging my blade quickly upwards, stabbing him in the chest, his blade falling to the ground. I span around, swinging my blade around and flinging him off towards the next nearest, the body flying at him and scoring a direct hit, knocking the pair into the river behind them.

The other three kept coming, now organized in a nice line, the trio shouting at the top of their lungs blades ready to strike. I shook my head, spinning around, swinging my blade low and cleaving through their legs, cutting them clean off, the warm crimson liquid oozing forth from their severed limbs, the blood on my blade and some drops on my face. They thankfully fell silent, hopefully now dead, or shocked from the pain. I walked closer to the bridge, putting my blade on my shoulder as I did so. I heard a lot of shouts on the other side, most likely the horde we were expected to face. The ground felt scarily solid under my feet as I moved, the rain starting as I eventually made it to the bamboo bridge, seeing the horde on the other side.

These guys were clever, doing a sneak attack when we least expected it. Zhuge Liang may have been right to say not to underestimate them. Judging on them...I'd say they are stronger then us, with more numbers, but worse weapons and armor. Should still be a cinch to beat them, and if we could recruit them, we'd have one hell of an army. They were doing this weird tribal dance with their weapons, doing weird motions every now and then. I watched them, cracking my neck in the rain.

"So that's how you want to play it eh?" I spoke, bringing my blade down and stabbing it into the ground, the blade digging in, standing upright without me having to move it at all. "Fine then...I'll play it your way" I cracked my knuckles, giving them a confident smile as they continued the dance, shrugging at it. They could have swamped us by now, and they haven't...why? Are they that confident that they'll win. I heard the drum beating in the background, knowing Nu had done her job.

It was weird...I stood for god knows how long, waiting for the army to form up, wake up and so on, waiting for the order to move. And throughout all of this...they did nothing, just continued the dance, almost like they were taunting me. I smiled, getting a rather stupid idea in my head, standing in front of my great sword.

I slammed my hands onto my knees, then patting my legs twice, moving to my left shoulder then to my right, then going back over the pattern. And for all the things I could be doing during this, I did the silliest I could.

"Patty cake patty cake..." yeah...I went there. I got stopped on the third run, being slapped on the back of the head, turning and seeing Nu shaking her head. "Sorry...got too caught up then"

"Look, you ready to go or what?" she asked, grabbed her bow off her back. I grabbed my great sword, placing it over my shoulder. "You'd suit here you know that"

"Silence" I looked away, turning back to the tribesmen. "We've got a job to do remember"

"I'm not the one dancing" She walked up besides me, spinning her bow around. "How about this...who can take the most down wins" I didn't need to think about that one.

"You're on...and don't be too sad when I win" She whistled.

"Well...if that's what you think" I barely heard a thing, only seeing the arrow fly towards one of the enemy, striking him in the eye. He fell to the ground, blood pooling quickly around him, aided by the rainwater. "That's one to me"

"Cheat"

I charged into the enemy ranks, grabbing the handle of my blade as I got onto the bridge, shouting at the top of my lungs as I closed the gap. They stopped their dance, readying for me to hit the line, swords raised in order to strike at me. I slid into the line, the idiots swinging barely above my head as I swung the blade into their sides, cutting through at least six of them, blood pouring down my blade onto the hilt, some specks hitting my face. For what it was worth, it was refreshingly warm in this cold rain.

I heard a couple of screams around me along with thuds to the ground. Nu getting a couple of kills I presume. I span around, bringing my blade skyward to cut through another's chest, then quickly spinning around and bringing the blade around to clear some space around me, blood flying as I cut loads of the blighters down...what am I on now, twenty five? They were almost queuing up to be cut down by my blade. I looked around quickly, seeing another soldier coming towards me, ready to swing his blade. I countered simply, charging closer and slamming the hilt into his chest, causing him to recoil back, lowering his blade. I took a shortcut instead of swinging the blade around, grabbing my long sword and swinging it out at him, cutting through his chest, the blade getting stuck in his chest. I pulled at it a few times, the blade refusing to move from his breast.

"Sorry about this buddy" I told him, running up to him and letting the blade go. He went to grab the blade, most likely to try and keep himself alive or remove the blade. I put my foot on the flat of the blade, jumping over him as he fell backwards. Using what momentum I had, I swung my great sword around, slamming the blade downwards into a soldier who thought he was ready for me, the sound of steel on steel resounding, then suddenly being replaced by a loud screech as his blade almost shattered, my blade continuing to his shoulder, cleaving through it before I finally hit the ground, blood splashing up onto my face and body. The nomads around me recoiled, almost frozen by fear. I slowly rose back up, putting my blade on my shoulder once more, barely moving as I took the blade out of the first victims chest, hearing him cry out in pain as he died finally. That must have been painful as hell, having a blade stuck in your chest.

I looked around the nomads, swinging my blade to get the blood off before resheathing it, moving my great sword back down so I could hold it in both of my hands. I could feel the fear they held of my visage at this moment in time, taste the sweat in the air as they near enough panicked, each not knowing what to do. I smiled, looking around between them, getting used to the semicircle around me as they slowly backed off.

"You think I'm bad" I told them, wiping some blood off my face. "Wait until you meet my friends" they looked between each other once more, then nodding. The way they looked they were preparing to leg it away from me, to escape the demon before them...big mistake. They all leaped at me at the same time, the front rows ready to cut me down. I jumped back, dodging the swings as they then replaced the motion, grabbing some dirt from the ground and throwing it at my face. I looked away too late, the wet dirt irritating my eyes as I backed up, trying my best to wipe the stuff out of my eyes, unable to see, but able to hear them running towards me.

I heard three sets of feet coming from behind me, followed by the cries of presumably three Nanman soldiers. I didn't know who the new guys were due to...well, blindness, but I was still alive. That was one thing. I put my blade into the earth, rubbing my face like hell to get the dirt out, hearing more and more screams of pain as the fight carried on. I eventually got the stuff out of my eyes, shaking my head a few times to remove the last of the irritation, turning to my saviours.

"Lord Fu Xi, look out!" one of them shouted. I turned, seeing a muscular Nanman soldier jumping, axe held high behind him as he swung it downwards towards me, aiming for my skull. Suddenly, a Soldier of Wu with a spear in hand got between us, blocking the axe with the wood, holding him far enough away from me for us both to get away from it. He however kicked at the soldier before backing up and spinning around, both smashing him with the blunt of the spear and then stabbing him in the leg with the point. I followed up, grabbing his head and slamming his face into my knee, then punching him dead in the face, knocking him back. Next on the list, his weapon. I grabbed the handle of the axe, throwing a kick at his crotch, followed quickly up with a punch to his chest. He lost his grip on his axe then, letting me take it off him, spinning around quickly and slamming the axehead into his spine. He cried out in pain, his hands jerking slowly to his back to try and grab the axe, to which I responded by kicking the iron in deeper, hearing a snap as I did so.

Time froze for a second, only broken by rain falling upon us. The soldiers had stopped, I was breathing heavily, waiting for this man to fall...his knee hit the ground hard, followed by the rest of his body. To make a point, I grabbed the axe out of his back, walking over to my greatsword and pulling it out of the ground.

"All I have to ask" I spoke, turning to the horde. "Who wants to be next?" They recoiled back as I smirked, all of them deciding to fall back even more, leaving the main camp for now. The soldiers around me celebrated, myself raising my sword in the air. We had won for now, but the battle was just around the corner.

"Fu Xi" I heard Shang Xiang speak. I turned to her, seeing her and Nu, along with Lu Meng running over the bridge. "Are you alright?"

"Thanks to these guys" I told her, putting my blade on my shoulder. "Come on, no time for a break...let's move out"

_that one moment made me appreciate the soldiers more_

_if not for him I would have been dead_

_and I had cut so many down in the same type situations..._

_...they are some brave people..._


	51. Tropical Tempers

It's kinda weird. 50 chapters in and I still find it weird that I have to balance characters in this so that they don't seem over-powered. Dynasty Warriors is known for characters being able to slay entire armies on their own, and yet I'm trying to have it so that they are more skilled, but not in the ranks of the dreaded Stus. You'd a thought Dynasty Warriors Fanfics were almost a license to make characters be related to gods in terms of fighting ability, but considering how I've done this so far...yeah, it's still weird at the 50 mark. And considering how long in terms of time this has been going...I'm tempted to look back over them and see how I've changed in terms of style, confidence and general writing. Gonna be here a while if I did. 50 chapters with an aim of around 5 pages a chapter...250 pages already. Don't think that's including the prologue. I know I can read quickly but that might take a while. Heck, it took a long time to write...I'm going way off track aren't I?

Here's a nice chapter for you. Enjoy.

Chapter 50

Tropical Tempers

_You know what they say about...killers having something wrong in their head...even before they kill?_

_Where does that leave me...and indeed every soldier in The Three Kingdoms right now?_

_Do we have something wrong with us?_

_Was this set within our heads from the beginning?_

_Was this whole mess...inevitable?_

The sounds of steel on steel resounded around the battlefield as I stepped onto it once more, Greatsword over my shoulder, each foot moving slowly, but with purpose, the rain falling upon everyone in torrents. I looked around, seeing Wu soldiers engaged with Nanman all over the place, swords clashing loudly off each other, occasional screams of pain resounding.

"Hey, Fu!" I heard Nu shouting, turning to her and seeing her near enough dancing, firing off two quick arrows at charging Nanman troops, pivoting on one foot to spin around an approaching spear and firing off another two quick arrows. "You gonna sit around all day gawking at us or are you gonna join the bloody hell in?!" She swung the bow down, cutting through the side of a soldier, blood pouring onto the ground.

"Just getting my bearings" I told her, watching some soldiers charging towards me, cracking my neck as they reared their arms back to stab me with their spears. "Besides...battle comes to me"

Just before they tried to impale me on the ends of their spears, I stabbed my blade into the ground, letting it go and jumping on top of it. The shafts of the spears flew by my feet, the Nanman too slow in reacting as I jumped forward, landing one foot on the shoulders of one and slamming my fist down onto his skull. In mid-collapse, I grabbed my sword, swinging it down and cleaving through the arm of a second, watching him recoil, his arm hitting the ground, blood oozing out of it.

"Too easy" I spoke, rolling forward to avoid the next swing, then raising my sword to block a third swing. I grabbed his spear, dragging him forward in a sharp yank and then stabbing him with my sword, digging into his gut. He instantly dropped, only in some kind of upright position by my sword, the nicely warm liquid splashing onto my face from his torso.

I yanked it out, spinning around and stabbing the point of the spear into the chest, my back turned to him, letting the spear go before turning back around, holding the sword back to front. The last guy looked terrified. And I couldn't half blame him.

"You know...you could save me time" I told him. His legs shook from fear, his eyes unfocused and indeed his spear shaking like a leaf in the wind. I pointed the blade at him, smiling. "Fight of Flight...CHOOSE!" He instantly dropped the spear, running by me as fast as his legs could carry him, his shouts resounding. I couldn't help but smile, dropping the spear and putting my sword away and grabbing my greatsword, pulling it out of the ground and placing it on my shoulder again. "Better Nu?" I heard her tut, then hearing an arrow fly by my ear, followed by a Nanman cry of pain. I turned, seeing one with an arrow in his eye.

"Get back into the fight you idiot!" She shouted back to me.

I looked back to the front line, putting the greatsword into it's sheath and grabbing my long sword and spear, strapping the gauntlet on securely. I cracked my neck, running forward into the main fight itself, numerous troops on both sides fighting fiercely, with at least a two to one ratio of Nanman to Wu troops. The only reason we weren't getting too outnumbered was due to the skill of our officers. I saw Lu Meng slamming the head of his Pike into a Nanman soldier, dragging him off the ground and slamming him into the ground. Meng followed it up, kicking the pike up and thrusting it into the chest of a second. I saw Shang Xiang practically dancing around, slashing the blades of her Chakam into her foes, blood pouring around as she did so. As for Su...well...

I brought both of my weapons up, blocking a pair of Nanman soldiers' axes from hitting me, the pair holding me down as a third charged forward. Su ran up my back, doing a backflip off my shoulders and slamming the back of her leg into the soldier's skull, her other foot landing on the spear, snapping the head off. She span around, throwing a dagger quickly at the soldier on my left, allowing me to free up my sword to cut into the other's chest. She wordlessly grabbed her knife, hiding it in her sleeve before she ran off to continue cutting down the merry minions. The blood on her leg seemingly not bothering her in the slightest.

I looked around as the battle continued, resisting a small laugh as a Wu soldier ducked, two Nanman soldiers both swung their axes down, both digging into the others skull and both falling over dead, the soldier looking between the two, bemused. The battle was going in our favor, heading towards a base in the distance, acting as a guardhouse in the distance. Our next objective I can presume.

I looked around once more, trying to find the best route there through the carnage. Troops were engaging on the front line, holding a whole line still. My gaze kept moving, trying to find any way around it...and my eyes were drawn towards a tree behind the Nanman Line. Su did the blunt thing, fighting her way through and jumping off of a Nanman soldier. I ran forward, throwing the spear at the tree, letting it impale into the wood and letting it drag me towards it, my feet leaving the sodden ground.

As I closed towards the wood, the branch I was on snapped, the timber coming towards me as I started falling, keeping my forward momentum. I swung the log off my arm, watching it slam into the skull of a Nanman soldier, with myself rolling as I hit the wet dirt, dashing as fast as I could after Su, seeing her fighting even more fiery then before, slamming her clackers into the skulls of various foes, almost dancing around the battlefield as she left a trail of death behind her. It was almost scary to think she was my ally as I chased after her. As Hypocritical as this may be, she was going into the enemy lines alone...I couldn't leave her to that considering the numbers of enemies.

She disappeared into the base, dragging a soldier by the neck with the chain off her clackers. I was waylaid, stopping as a group of Nanman surrounded me, as I slid to a stop in the middle, looking around. A good number of them had me encircled, with little chance of reinforcement for me. Each one was armed with a sword, little armor, and a menacing grin.

I counted them, taking a defensive stance, making them to number around twelve, thirteen at a stretch. They looked confident, almost eager to take me on. Let's see if I can turn that to my advantage, shall we. Overconfidence and eagerness will lead to being cocky.

"Come on...I thought the Nanman were known to be oh...strong...brave...fierce" I told them, smiling as I looked around. "All I can see are a bunch of puppies as opposed to tigers" five were in front of me, and they changed their looks so fast the fires of Chi Bi started slower.

One of them charged towards me, holding his sword high. I span around, slamming my leg into his chest, planting the spear into the ground and keeping the momentum going to slash the sword through his chest, cutting cleanly through and watching him fall to the side. I landed on my feet, yanking my spear out of the ground. Two more ran the gauntlet, one swinging low, the other swinging high. I threw my spear at one still stood in the ring, watching it fly through his chest and stick fast within. I let the chain yank me back towards it just as the pair were swinging, dodging the blades by inches as they hit each other, blood pouring onto the ground. These guys were dumber then they looked.

As I closed to the target, I put my feet up, slamming the base of them onto his chest, yanking the spear out as I hit him, pushing off him. He hit the ground hard as I landed fine, looking between the two either side of my victim. I flew at the one to the left, my spear digging into him. I brought my sword to bear on the other one, swinging upwards, causing blood to fly as his chest opened up, some of it landing on my face.

The others...I didn't really get a chance to play with, so to speak. As I kicked the one on my spear off, a loud crash resounded. I turned, seeing everyone looking to the base Su had gone into. I looked, seeing the base now in a small state. When you normally take a base...you set it alight. But not Su, no, she had to go and be unique by going one step further.

A fricking wall was destroyed, revealing the innards of the base, with a mess of bodies and collapsed people trying to scramble away from the warrior. Su just stood there, letting us all absorb the image, the entire front line of the Nanman troops falling back as fast as demons from a holy symbol. I blinked twice, seeing Su cutting down the odd soldier as they tried to escape.

It was like she was someone else. Shang Xiang and Meng ran up to her, both looking concerned. I ran over to catch up with them.

"Su..." I spoke, swinging my sword to clean the blood off quickly. "Did you..."

"The enemy are falling back to the south" She spoke, breathing. "Shall we pursue?" it was cold...I knew that, as soldiers, we had to be cold at times, but even Su wasn't THIS bad before.

"We shall" Meng spoke, putting his halberd over his shoulder. "We must show these primitives that they can not attack Wu and leave unscathed. The tigers come to hunt the south-lands" I exchanged worried looks with Shang Xiang, sighing and shaking my head.

"Meng...we need to shore up our supply lines" I told him, turning back to the Lord Strategist. "Last thing we need right now is our only supply line over the bridge getting severed. Not to mention the fact that the majority of our army is on this side of the river" He nodded.

"I understand your concerns Lord Fu Xi. However, we have already taken that into consideration" He lowered his halberd, walking forward to the enemy. "For now, we go. For the glory of Wu!" He walked on, myself and Shang Xiang exchanging looks once more, both worried.

"This smells like a trap" I told her, getting crossed arms in response.

"I know...but would the Nanman tribes be that clever" She replied.

"Nu told me something from Zhuge Liang...that we shouldn't underestimate these foes" She looked away, nodding a few times"

"As much as I don't like Nu at the moment...we can't ignore Lord Liang" She spoke. Su turned back to us, Nu joining us as well.

"Shang Xiang, go on ahead. We'll secure the back lines" I told her.

"Wait, what did I miss?" Nu asked. I got half an evil look from Su as this was asked.

"If this is a trap, we'll be ready for it" Ignoring Nu's question. "You've got soldiers, we don't...well, Nu might but-"

"Remember those potential bases you pointed to? They are taking them" all three of us Wu officers turned to Nu at this point, seeing her looking between us, confused. "What did I say?"

"Nothing. Nothing. Just thinking about what we could do with them on the front" Shang Xiang spoke. Myself and Su remained quiet in this, with a shrug from me.

"Oh, relax. We've dealt with the Nanman tribes for years. Not like you can do much better then we can" I ignored her, but Shang Xiang, being a member of the Sun...

"We have fought harder battles then you in Shu ever could, Traitor. You forget who it was that took you in before Lui Bei came along"

"I do, and I realize how much better Shu is considering we actually do something in the war. It's called a war, not a peaceable disagreement!"

"My Lords, My Ladies" A messenger came running up. Poor guy. Nu and Shang Xiang both shot an evil glare at him.

"WHAT!?" They both shouted at the same time, the messenger recoiling at the pair. I shook my head, walking up to the young man.

"Report soldier" I spoke. He did the respect thing with his hands and bow, edging away from the ladies.

"We have reports of movement by the bridge, but you are the closest people we have to it" I put my sword and Spear away, grabbing my great sword off my back"

"Shang Xiang, join the front line. Nu, Su, you two are with me" I told them, starting to run.

"Think you can keep up, Nova" Su chided as she followed us.

"You'll be in my dirt, Arty-girl"Nu replied.

This was going to be fun..

_I'd forgotten about the past when it came to Nu...forgotten how she and Shinra had left for Shu._

_I didn't know how to feel at the time...and now with it brought up once more, I still don't know._

_With how things looked, I knew people from both sides weren't happy with our alliance._

_Shu did all the fighting, we were practically just here to hold Wei back from the South._

_Where did that leave Wu when Shu took Wei and became the dominant power..._

_Where did that leave our circumstantial alliance now..._

_Where did that leave our relationships at all..._

Well, you all know that Shu and Wu go to war eventually, so the last diary entry isn't really spoiling now is it? Anyway, yeah, 2nd part down, and I hope that still attains the old level of quality. I'm thinking about doing the whole of the Nanman campaign before flipping back to my other stories and updating them. If I do then I'll be gone a bit longer getting those chapters fired out.


	52. A Bridge too Far

WORK HARDER MAN! WORK HARDER!

Chapter 51:

A bridge too far.

_We had to keep that bridge._

_If that fell, we'd be stuck without supplies, reinforcements._

_And Quan would be cut off from us._

_That was something we had to keep._

Ever had that feeling that, whatever happens, something is going to go wrong? Right now I've got Nu and Su both on the edge, fighting each other instead of the enemy, along with killing plenty of the Nanman. We've got this whole mess with the Nanman soldiers near the bridge and we don't know what the heck they are planning. Theories don't make facts unless proven.

All the time we had been running, Nu had occasionally taken the lead, and I noticed one thing about her that I hadn't seen: she had a loop of rope tied to her belt, linked to an arrow separated from the rest of the quiver. Guess she's prepared for a lot for this battle. Was Zhuge Liang that precise in his advice to Nu?

"Dead Ahead" Nu called, sliding to a stop and grabbing an arrow, firing it quickly. Through the mist came a cry of pain. Myself and Su kept running, finding the mess of Nanman soldiers around the bridge, one impaled with the arrow on the bridge. A group of them were holding small blades, quickly cutting their way through the ropes.

"Su! You take the Bridge! I'll keep 'em off!" I shouted to her, seeing her outpacing me and throwing a punch at the closest one. She quickly followed up, placing a hand on his axe, smashing his arm and spinning the axe around, slamming it into his skull.

"Bring it you bastards!" She shouted, throwing a kick at a second, knocking him down. She quickly dived forward and stabbing his neck, blood flying out of the back, and even splashing onto her as she pulled it out. She kept running, her feet crashing down onto the bridge before she grabbed a Nanman soldier, throwing him into the rapids below.

Arrows continued to fly in as I made it to the front line, bringing my greatsword over my head and bringing it down upon the skull of a soldier, watching him collapse, thankfully as opposed to falling into two separate pieces. I pulled my blade free, spinning around and smashing the blade through the legs of a second, jumping and swinging the blade up through a third. Blood splashed around, landing on me, along with my blade. My face warmed up, blood must have landed on my cheek or something.

Nu joined me as I brought my blade up to block a blow. Her shield and my sword connected with his axe, but she followed it up with a quick stab to his chest. She didn't just pull it out, but quickly swung it to the side. The poor guy lost most of the blood within his chest, spurting it upon myself and Nu. I looked at her, nodding as I saw two more heading towards us. We ran towards them, both of us slamming the points of our blades into their chests, my blade going through him as hers dug into his heart. I kicked mine off, Nu simply retracting the blade, both hitting the ground at the same time.

"You take the bridge...Su gonna need all the help she can get" Learn to Grammar Nu...but she had a point. I looked around quickly, bringing my blade up to block an axe, kicking him back away from me before running to the bridge.

"One behind you Nu!" I yelled to her. She swung her Rapier at a soldier in front of her, smashing the shield into the others skull. I shook my head, turning back to the bridge and catching up with the action...safe to say I hadn't missed much.

Su had only cleared the whole bridge of enemies. I put my greatsword back on my back, grabbing the spear and sword for maneuverability and flexibilty. I bent down to get my sword out, feeling a spear flying over my back as I did so. I grabbed my crossbow, turning around quickly and firing it at the, now disarmed, soldier, the bolt flying and digging into his skull. I put the crossbow back, turning back and barely having time to raise my sword to block and axe attack.

I heard a loud shout from behind the soldier, Su flying in and stabbing him several times before letting him drop to the bridge. I turned around, hearing Su heading to our Camp's side and fighting off some soldiers who must have been part of the ambush. I looked around the ranks, seeing either Su or Nu holding them off. I bent down, loading the crossbow up and aiming it once more, holding my breath as I looked around, trying to find opportunity shots.

They started bringing archers out, each one armed with our common bow, an arrow in the other and a quiver over the back. And to top it all off, someone brought a fire lit torch...guess these guys know how to use fire and oil or maybe even some sort of resin. Gives me a target at the very least. I guess I know what they are doing, they take the bridge down and separate us all.

I aimed my crossbow at one of the archers, watching them moving to light the arrows. I fired at the torch bearer, bringing him down with the first bolt. I quickly reloaded, fighting with the gears and string as an archer took over the role, lighting his own arrow. I placed the bolt into place, aiming quickly and firing, watching the arrow fly into the arm of the fire bearer, watching the flame fall back and ignite him. It was kinda satisfying to see him ignite, watching him screaming in agony and running around. Only problem was, as I reloaded, the next archer took over, lighting the arrows of three others.

"Nu! Archers!" I shouted to her. She killed another soldier, turning towards them and seeing them.

"Holy crap! SU! FU! GET OFF THE BRIDGE!" She yelled. I fired off the last bolt, putting it on my side and grabbing my spear, strapping it on as I ran forward. As I got off the wood, I turned, seeing Su fighting a new foe.

"Su! MOVE!" I heard the arrows fly, panic filling me as Su barely registered the cry, the arrows embedding in the bridge causing her to look around quickly as the planks caught alight, even in the rain. She looked around, trying to find a way off as I did the same.

Some of the ropes broke under the heat, the bridge rocking violently as they did so. I looked around on the other end of the bridge, finding some horse guards on the other end of the bridge, a good distance...and a good throw...it was close enough to be a challenge to get on to.

No time to think or to plan. I got a bit of distance between myself and the river, breathing as I got ready. Su gritted her teeth as more ropes went. I charged forwards, my feet digging into the cold rain soaked earth, pulling my arm back as far as I could make it go and throwing with all my strength, my spear flying through the air, watching it fighting the wind and the rain in order to fly.

I heard a thud, feeling the chain tug as the spear dug into the wood on what I knew to be a weak section. Su saw it, grabbing her clackers and running at the edge, jumping at the chain, swinging her clacker out, the ball flying around the chain and reentering her hand, the fighter never taking her hand away from the pair. I started sliding forward, grabbing my great sword off my back and embedding it into the earth to keep my distance, holding it with everything I had.

"Feel like Hanging around!" I shouted to Su, trying to keep the chain where it was and the fighter dry.

"Not the best time" She replied, throwing a hand onto the chain, putting the clackers back away as she replaced it with her other hand. She slowly started to move along the chain towards the horse barrier, every movement slow and unsteady. I can feel it digging into my arm, never mind her hands.

I looked at the barrier, seeing where my spear was impaled starting to crack. My mouth opened wide in horror, trying to think of something in order to help her. The sounds of combat died behind me, with the loud sounds of more battles going on in the main camp. That was when it hit me...well, she hit me.

"A spear chain is not a rope" Nu told me, smacking my head. She loaded up the roped arrow, firing it at a more secure section of wood, the rope near Su's body. "Grab that!" Su nodded, swinging a few times in the air, grabbing the rope and letting the chain go. "Fu, drag the chain in. Gonna need your help with this one" I nodded, letting her take command as I dragged the spear in, getting a large chunk of wood with it, narrowly missing Su. I kicked the wood off, seeing Nu grabbing the rope from her belt, then...climbing on the handle of my blade? "Slide to the bank! Fu, grab me"

I raised an eyebrow, seeing her confident smile as I ran behind her, grabbing her by the legs and holding as tight as I could. Some of the situations I get into in this line of work I'll never know how I get into them. Now I've got the ass of a friendly woman in my face whilst we save another woman. I ended up having to pull her back in order to fight the strain caused by the heavy weight of Su (remind me to ask her to diet before she marries).

SNAP!

Oh fuck!

Before I knew it, I heard a loud Snap, almost a twang, now dragging Nu down to the ground, both of us hitting the ground hard, my back getting soaked to the teeth with water and blood. Nu landed on top of me, both of us gasped from the impact. Nu took a bit to react, flying up to a sitting position and looking over the bank. I put a hand on my head, doing the same.

Su was on the other bank, standing firm and ready to roll. Nu got off of me, wiping herself down as I stood up, wiping myself down once more, sighing as I walked to the banks edge.

"Go and help the Main Camp! We'll secure a line back to reinforcements!" I shouted over the bank. Su nodded, running over to the battle on her side as myself and Nu turned around. "Ready for a fight?"

"You know it" she told me, smiling. "You've gotten stronger by the way..."

"That's...nice to know" where did that come from? "Look, let's get this dealt with then we can deal with the whole...socializing thing" I told her, grabbing my greatsword out of the ground and walking to the south lines. "Let's rock and roll!"

_It's apparent that we can work together when we are allies..._

_but that question still resounds in my head_

_when Wei Falls, how do we co-exist?_

_What will happen to Wu and Shu?_


	53. All Fired Up

You know what, I'm going to do a small marathon of working on this to at the very least clear Nanman. Heck, I want to get to Fan but that's taking long enough...maybe I could kill of Fu Xi...nah. Too easy. And it's weird thinking of ways to kill myself...wouldn't that count as suicide?

Whilst I'm dealing with the philosophical issues here's the next chapter... **walks off talking to self about the issue**

oh, and before I go, apparently putting * around sections bolds them. Yeah, thanks for that Open office. Didn't tell me about that update now did you?

Disclaimer: Dynasty Warriors is owned by Koei and Omega force. The legend of the three kingdoms is technically owned by history. I own nothing except the characters made by myself with a section of historical basis. (Well, Fu Xi, Nu Wa, historical basis, trololol) Su Zhi is owned by Lorze the Brooks in her story, The Warrior of Art (Yeah, hard to believe that it's been 6 odd years since I first read that story)

(last thing I swear) and if you want to see more Fu Xi goodness, He has a role in The Warrior of Art. So go read it.

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Chapter 53:

All Fired Up

_Considering all the rain, it didn't really dampen our spirits._

_We just kept on going, no matter the conditions, despite slipping and such._

_The things was, the enemy were locals._

_They were used to this...and would be able to plan accordingly..._

_and considering we had lost the bridge, it would be our spirits that would carry us._

We made it back to the southern Garrison, seeing the Wu soldiers fortifying it once more, despite the now ruined walls. I looked around, seeing Lu Xun talking to Shang Xiang about the situation, the pair discussion with a table holding the map between them.

"We know the enemy is massed over here" Xun spoke, pointing to a section to the east. "And thanks to the Detachment sent from Shu, we've secured here and here" What detachment? Nu brought only herself. Guess Liu Bei sent more then we saw

"So now we just need a bit of help from Brother to force them out" Shang Xiang replied, smiling.

"Hate to be the bearer of bad news" I told them, walking up to the table, Nu at my side. "The Bridge is out. Nanman Engineers took it down, and from the sound of things Quan is under attack" They both looked at me, Shang Xiang shocked as Xun was calm.

"Hmm...this is going to make things difficult" He replied, looking over the table once more and myself and Nu stopped next to it. "Without that supply line, we're going to struggle, especially with the numbers we have"

"What's the plan Xun?" He took his hat off, scratching his head, before answering.

"Alright...we know the enemy are trying to pin us in here" He replaced the hat, now pointing to the base on the map. "If we stay here too long, we're going to be killed by the enemy, and Our Lord is going to be as well" He now pointed either side. "Both sides have enemy soldiers en mass to hold us back, with the enemy main force in the east...which means that our best chance to break through lies in the west" He traced his hand around, tapping at the bases Nu had sent the Shu troops to secure. "If we're lucky, they will still be fighting, and able to resupply us as we go" He looked between us, a fire now burning in his eyes as he hit his stride. I could just see Lu Meng in him as he dealt with this, The warrior himself walking up from behind me, his halberd over his shoulder. "Lady Nu Wa, Lord Lu Meng, Lord Fu Xi, I would ask you to hold the line here whilst myself and Lady Shang Xiang try to fight our way through the enemy to link back up with the main force. With any luck, we should be able to arrive at the same time as Lord Gan Ning and Lord Ling Tong"

"Something to add to the mix Lu Xun. Su Zhi is over the bank in the main camp" I told him. He nodded, smiling.

"That will make things easier. At the very least Lady Su will buy us more time, if not keep Our Lord safe along with Lord Zhou Tai" If there's anything that that pair will do, they will be able to keep Quan safe...if anything I feel sorry for the Nanman barbarians. "We need to move as fast as we can. This base is going to come under attack soon, and we need to be out before they get within range."

"Range of what?" Nu asked. Xun just walked away, leaving her question unanswered. Saying that the answer was kinda obvious. Archers, spear throwers, that sort of thing. It was kinda obvious Nu. Shang Xiang walked up to me, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek before patting me on the shoulder.

"I'll see you on the other side...fates willing" She told me, grabbing her chakam.

"Fates willing we'll be home before the month's out" I told her, smiling as she ran off.

"Soldiers! We go! Men of the Xun and Xiang Battalions, follow us. the rest, hold the line here as long as you can" Sounds simple enough. Since when were we battalions by the way? Screw it, sounds better then 'the Xun squad' The soldiers under the command of the pair started leaving to follow Shang Xiang and Xun, with myself, Meng and Nu looking over the map once more.

"He's good Lu Meng" I told him, smiling as I gave him a look out my eye corner.

"He will be the flame that guides Wu during it's darkest hours I feel" Nu continued. Lu Meng looked between us, lowering his halberd before leaning over the table.

"That's his ability at work...Boy's as bright as anyone else at Wu, even rivaling Lord Zhuge Liang" Lu Meng replied, the rest of the soldiers now readying up. "He'll be ready...for if..." I raised an eyebrow as Meng quickly coughed away the subject.

"Ok...here's the plan" He pointed at the base we were holding. "We know they are coming. Our scouts report a Female Barbarian leading their ranks using throwing knives and a bladed boomerang" Throwing knives? Sounds oddly familiar. "Our best bet is to get our archers on the walls and ready to meet the charge. The weapons in this base may be primitive" He tells the people from the 21st century...not that he's know. "But usable...It would be better if our archers could make use of the locals weapons for the sake of ammunition...otherwise...we should be on the lookout for anything our of place. The enemy know the terrain like the back of their hands"

I nodded to this, leaning back away from the table as Nu walked off. Meng gave me a quick nod before running off himself. I looked over the map once more, getting an idea in my head of what we had to deal with. The North was secure at least for us. The terrain to the east was mostly marshy which would slow anyone down if they charged through it. That would buy us time for the archers to cut them down at range. The west was solid ground, so Xun and company wouldn't be hindered when on the move. Only thing that'll slow them down would be the enemy, and they wouldn't do that much.

We took around 10 minutes to quickly muster up our lines. Nu had decided to go with the archers on the walls, Meng and myself on the outside with the infantry. The plan was to let them charge at us, when Nu would launch a fire arrow behind them, severing the lines in two for a short period, hopefully long enough for us to cull the first half of the assault. Meng had set the fire powder (as I call it. He mentioned it's real name but I didn't quite catch it) down himself, so it was going to light, no matter where Nu hit or how long it took the enemy to get here. And then, if all else failed, I could just run at it and do it myself.

"Lord Fu Xi" Lu Meng called out to me, riding up beside me on his bay horse, halberd over his shoulder. I put my greatsword into the sodden earth, leaning on it as I waited. "How are you dealing with the weather?" I sneezed as he said this, rubbing my nose with my finger.

"It's just like Xia Kou" I told him, half smiling. "Only warmer" Well, it was tropical, what do you expect. Lu Meng shook his head, planting his hand on my shoulder.

"You'll be on the winning side this time" I smiled, turning to him as the rain now finally decided it wanted to turn my hair into a min-waterfall down my face. I shook my head before replying at all, wanting to actually look at him.

"Just hope I'll see it when it actually comes" I joked, Meng laughing slightly at this. "Be honest Meng...what are the chances of Su and Zhou failing?"

"Given the enemy we've faced so far...slim to none" as he said this, I spied a group of enemy soldiers appearing from the mists, each one plodding their way through the mud and undergrowth. I grabbed the hilt of my blade, lifting it up onto my shoulder before sighing.

"Then how about we finish this up quick?" He turned to the walls, raising his halberd to signal the archers, the rest of the infantry readying up for the fight. "The more noise we make here, the better chances are Shang Xiang and Xun will break through"

The enemy started yelling, obviously some war-cry as they charged through, slowly dragging their way through. I grabbed my longsword as well, smiling as I realized how tired they would be. I gave the blade a quick flourish, washing off whatever blood was left on it from it's previous use, breathing to ready myself.

"This is where we make our stand. It's do or die" I spoke, adjusting the angle my greatsword rested at. "We fall here, and the others don't stand a chance" the Nanman barbarians came ever closer, a couple of them getting out of the marshland and now charging at us full pelt, the heavy infantry divisions moving up to guard Lu Meng and myself, shields locked together to keep the enemy back, spearmen behind holding their polearms over their shoulders. What was this, Sparta? Whatever, this was going to be effective at holding them back for a time. "Let's make this count" The Barbarians crossed our line, Lu Meng giving a small chuckle.

"ARCHERS! FIRE!" He yelled, swinging his halberd forward.

I heard the sound of arrows flying behind us, feeling them flying over head and watching the enemy before us shrink in number from the expert marksmanship, floor becoming cluttered by corpses and weapons impaling the ground. I put my longsword into the ground, grabbing my crossbow quickly and firing off a quick bolt, hitting one in the skull before quickly replacing it on my leg and grabbing my sword once more.

The horde was still growing, their cries getting louder and louder as they closed the gap, the holes appearing in their numbers not shirking them from their goals of cutting us down. The front line finally came within reach of us, jumping the last few steps, swinging their axes at the spears to divert them before jumping at the shield wall, their axes now smashing on the heads of the front-line, cutting down our infantry quickly. I turned to Meng, nodding to him before charging forward.

"NU WA!" He yelled as I got closer to the front lines. "FIRE!" I dived forward, slamming the grip of the blade into a Barbarian's side as he went for a swing, saving a spear man from becoming a half the man he is now. The spear man turned, seeing me and the barbarian, slamming the shaft of his spear into the barbarian's chest, causing him to hunch over as I swung the great-sword over my shoulder, cleaving the Nanman soldier's head off, blood gushing around as I moved quickly to recover.

This felt oddly comfortable. As much as the weight of the great sword was difficult to manage at times, I figured, I should be able to make up for it with the speed of the long sword. I spun on the blade, bringing the longsword around to slice through the chest of a soldier in front of me, repositioning the great sword once more over my shoulder as I moved ahead, cutting into a third with some sort of grace, my blade cutting into his shoulder as I got back to my feet.

I felt something heavy hit my greatsword, turning to it and seeing a soldier pinning it down, trying to bring it to cut through my shoulder through sheer weight. I gritted my teeth, attempting to spin my long sword around to cut him off, literally, only to find that a new one had decided to slam the blunt side of his axe against my fist, forcing me to drop the sword, gritting my teeth.

"Fu Xi!" Lu Meng shouted, riding up behind us and cutting through the Nanman soldier behind me, the guy falling to the ground as Meng kept on riding, swinging his halberd down once more to slam the blade upon the skull of the other one. "Don't mess around! Just cut them down!"

I shook my head. What the hell was I thinking? This wasn't the time to...experiment. Maybe it was the weather getting to me, maybe it was me being an ass, maybe it was wanting to show off to Nu. I don't know. I shook my head a second time, grabbing my long sword and swinging the mud off. I put the great sword away, breathing as I grabbed the spear gauntlet once more.

"Get your head back in the game Craig" I said to myself, looking around at the battlefield, seeing Wu soldiers pushing the line. "Now isn't the time to try and be a show off"I clenched my fist at this point, swinging the spear down and flexing my arm. I saw something bright fly over head, impacting the ground just behind the midpoint of the Nanman horde.

The flames caught on, the powder bursting into life as the lines were split. The enemy suddenly looked between the flames and us, panicking, finding that their one advantage was now gone completely. If anything they had developed two massive disadvantages: they were pinned with their backs to the (fire)wall, and they no longer had the numbers advantage against us. Lu Meng rode up alongside me once more, swinging his halberd down.

"Got to give Lady Nu credit, her Marksmanship has improved a lot" He commented, brushing under his nose before the Wu soldiers started to push the enemy back properly. I cracked my neck, sighing.

"I'm getting too old for this" I said to myself, running at the frontline once more, weapons held tight once more.

It was simple from that point. Pretty much a simple mopping up job, cutting down what was left whilst the fires still burnt. Whilst we didn't get off scot free, we managed to do it with minimal casualties. I had to walk Meng back to the walls after we pushed them back. The rest of the horde decided to back off, obviously now intent on taking the fight north.

We had a reprieve. That was all we needed. If they came back, we had managed to buy time, that was really all we had to do. Nu was walking around in the base, sighing every now and then as she put her bow over her shoulder. Meng was flexing his shoulder, obviously stretched from overuse. I was better off, but I knew the spear was starting to see it's shaft on the edge. Something that would need to be replaced when I got back to Wu. Must have been the rain ruining the wood or something...whatever the case, if I wasn't careful I'd be stuck with an overly large stick.

Could always club them.

"Captain, report" Meng spoke, sitting against a wall near the side we had just held ran up to us, doing the salute.

"We've used up all the ammunition the enemy had stored here, so our archers are going to have to fight in the melee now" He replied, Nu sighing once more.

"Your not helping Nu" I told her.

"However...we've received a report that Lady Shang Xiang and Lord Xun have met up with Reinforcing units, Lord Gan Ning and Lord Ling Tong" B-E-A-uiful. That'll be good for us. "we have yet to receive any order to move out however"

"What news of Lord Sun Quan?" I asked him. He turned to me at this point, shaking his head.

"We haven't heard a thing my lord" I sighed at this point, shaking my head. This was great, until we heard something we were pretty much stuck here holding a silent line. Or at least for the moment silent. At least things couldn't really get worse. We had held for now, for all we knew we had a supply line and just didn't know it.

"M-My lords!" one of the archers on the wall called. We all turned to him, seeing him pointing to the outside. "It's...an enemy general!" I raised an eyebrow, Meng jumping to his feet as we all scrambled to look, Nu climbing up the wall quickly as Meng and myself scrambled up the walkway.

It was a soldier...a female soldier. We could all tell that judging on how she was walking. Meng rested his halberd next to him, giving a small chuckle. I looked her over, wondering what on earth this one was thinking. Nu readied her bow, loading a single arrow.

"Wait" Meng told her. Nu and myself turned to him at this point, giving him a raised eyebrow. "Don't fire...Let myself and Lord Fu Xi deal with this" Nu relaxed, lowering her bow and letting the string relax.

"Are you sure Lord Lu Meng?" Nu asked. I was pretty much thinking the same thing. Meng nodded, lifting his halberd onto his shoulder.

"Of Course" was all he replied with, turning to walk back out. I shook my head, shrugging before walking to follow.

"I don't know either...keep an eye out for a signal if I need a quick shot" I told her. She nodded to me, leaning against the edge and watching. Meng you had better know what you are doing. I caught up to him, sighing as we walked out the gate. "Meng...please tell me this is some sort of good idea"

"It's a mix of finding out what they want, showing our strength to Shu and indeed finding out how our Lord is" it was going well...until the second point. Mentally I'm grinding my teeth, knowing how stupid that showing off to Shu is. We're allies not enemies. Do we need to constantly try and outdo one another. But at least he somewhat had his head in the game, knowing that we had to find out what was what and where.

We left the base behind us, Meng only giving it one last look before we both turned to the mysterious woman, looking her over as we approached once more. It was definitely a woman, and definitely a Nanman barbarian. Her hair was long and white, stretching down her neck to midway down her neck. She was tall, at least as tall as Meng was. She had barely any clothing. A leopard skin bra to hold her breasts in (and, without trying to sound like I'm taking notes, they are large) most likely the rest of it's skin covering her thighs with fur boots and arm guards. Other then that, she had three long white feathers in her hair, and a hairband of some kind. That was it for clothing.

Would I be forgiven for calling her an Amazon? I did mentally laugh, thinking that Amazon existed in...what...Vietnam? Who'd a thought the Vietnamese would be Nanman and Amazons. I looked at her once again, seeing a three pronged Boomerang...really? For crying out loud a boomerang in China. You know, I've just learned not to ask questions about these kind of things any more. Hell, we have magic in our blood so boomerangs aren't too far off from that. She turned her head towards us as we approached, putting her boomerang on her shoulder.

"I am Lord Lu Meng of Wu" Meng spoke, lowering his halberd defensively. I readied my hand on my longsword, just in case. "You have been troubling our lines for many a month now, so we have come to put you down" She half chuckled, flipping her boomerang around, showing the blades on two of the three sections.

"I am Zhu Rong, the Daughter of the Goddess of Fire" She proudly replied, giving us a glare from hell. "You trespass on sacred ground to our people. If you want to leave with your lives, I suggest you run now" Lu Meng laughed at this point.

"Really? Well then tell me, if we are doing so badly, how are the Northern lines doing? Surely you'll be winning there as well" Zhu Rong lowered her Boomerang, shaking her head.

"It's only a matter of time-"

"Time until we defeat you" Meng was quick to interrupt. He must have read it as well, the shaking gave her away. "If you think you have us, then why are we still standing here? And why have you come alone to our lines?" You could see in Zhu Rong's eyes that Meng was picking at her weakness.

"Look hot stuff, if you think you have us, then why are you stuck here?" She had a point. I'll give her...thaaaat? That voice is familiar.

"So, you about ready to quit then?" I asked her, holding my hand out in front of Meng. "Or would you rather do what you tried be-"

And that was when it hit me...She wasn't here just to talk. She was here for something else. I paused, turning my head back to the base, seeing Nu looking around. She wouldn't...would she?

"Meng...Get back to the walls" I told him, grabbing my sword and spear. He looked at me with a face that was between confusion and shock.

"But why? It's not like they are-" Meng started, before we heard a cry from the base. We both swung our heads around, seeing Nu swinging the blades of her bow at three Nanman soldiers. "It was a trap?"

"Bait...she wanted the commanders out to disrupt the base as much as possible" I explained, turning back to Zhu Rong.

"You're good, sparky" She told us, smiling. Meng swung between myself and her, debating what to do.

"Meng. Go!" I shouted at him. He gritted his teeth, starting to run towards the walls.

"Not so fast!" Zhu Rong shouted back. She spun around, throwing her boomerang at me, the blades spinning in a vortex of death towards me.

I gulped, diving to the ground quickly, the weapon flying over my head by a hair's length, piece's of my cape being shredded by it. I rolled over, seeing the weapon coming back, not moving whilst it went back to it's owner. I watched the woman catch it expertly, spinning around again as she placed her hand on the only wooden section. I saw a glint as well, blinking before getting up, then hearing a cry of pain from Meng. I threw myself up, seeing him leaning on his halberd, one arm reaching around his back. I didn't have to think long to figure out what had happened, running over to him.

"Meng!" I shouted, putting my arm around him, gritting my teeth as I looked at him.

"I'm fine" He replied, gasping in pain before bringing a blood stained knife around, breathing a bit. "Never saw this one coming" He moaned, lifting himself up and turning to Zhu Rong. "Not only did she manage to draw us out, but she also managed to hit us with a sneak attack" He rubbed the injured section, lowering his halberd so he could take it with both hands. "She's mine"

"No...Leave her for me" I told him, spinning my sword in my hand. "My weapons are better given what she has" Zhu Rong pulled another set of blades, holding them as one would a hand of cards, her boomerang low at her side. "Besides...you need to organize the garrison. Nu needs the help" I let him go, stepping forward, the wind catching my cape and blowing it to one side. I have more then a slight feeling that the cape will be my trump card in this. Meng grunted, I heard his feet turn him to the base.

"Good luck Fu Xi" He told me, running back to our allies.

I cracked my neck, flipping my blade in my hand and pointing the spear towards her, pacing around as she responded, doing the same, both of us walking in a clockwise fashion. I looked her over, trying to figure how she was going to move. She shuffled the knives in her hand, playing around as she tried to distract me with that.

This was going to be fun.

_We were all going all out in order to last out here._

_We weren't about to let this be our darkest hour, fighting the Nanman barbarians._

_It would be humiliating to go out like this, especially in such circumstance._

_Now a 'descendent of the Goddess of fire' wanted to take us down, even injuring Meng._

_The Goddess was going to have to deal with The Demon._

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THERE! Finally. This took like...god, a week's worth of work. (and I don't mean I've been working on this a week. I mean I've been working on this for may as well be a week straight) You have no idea how determined I am to get this battle cleared. Hell, the gap between This and Fan will be easy to do, I already know what I'm going to do for that, and how I'm going to do it, but it's just getting there. Hell, I know what I want to do for this, even with Meng Huo. But it's just getting there.

So, now I've got like...2, 3 chapters left for this battle, with 1 more for a section of filler (if you've been reading Warrior of Art, you know what filler I'm on about...if not, go read it. This is me being subtle.)

Oh, one last thing. don't ask why I'm uploading this at like 2:40 am GMT. I have been so determined to get this thing out that I took a late night working on it. Thankfully I don't have much in the morning to go to.


	54. Flames of Hell

You know, I feel like I can get through this easy enough. MOVING ON! This one should be simple enough to do as I know how I'm running this.

Disclameer (yes, intentional): Dynasty warriors is owned by Omega force and Published by Koei. I only own my own alterations to the plot, which just happens to be the inclusion of myself, Nu, Shinra, Ma and Fei (god that took a while) along with the black smith whom...oh god I forgot the name. And I made her...and the archer. Su Zhi in her badassery is owned by Lorze the Brooks. Go read the Warrior of art for that. (DO IT! I'll wait. This stories not going anywhere)

Please support the official release (especially when DW7 empires comes out (which at the time of writing, it already has. Just A DAY LATE SHIPPING -_- ))

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Chapter 54

Flames of Hell.

_Standing upon that ground was probably the most fearful I had been during the Nanman campaign._

_She claimed to be a demi-goddess...and all I had was my reputation as a demon._

_I knew she was good with those knives of her, and the boomerang was good in itself._

_I don't know why, but while I do admit to being scared..._

…_I was thrilled..._

I don't know how long we had been pacing. Two, three minutes, maybe more. The rain continued to pour, with a few spots of thunder coming down as well. Zhu Rong kept eyeing me up, trying to gauge what I'd do as I flipped my longsword around in my hand. I was practically doing the same back.

Let's see...the knives are good for ranged combat, so I want to close it if I want to take those out of the equation. Saying that the boomerang itself lends itself to the short and midrange, so she's got her bases covered. The lack of armour means that chances are she'll be relying on her dexterity to get by or blocking with the blades.

She spun around, throwing the blades at me with lightning speed. I barely had time to duck under them, feeling them fly over my head once more, hearing my cape tear behind me. She kept spinning, throwing the boomerang one handed towards me. My eyes shooting open wide before my body decided to move, my arm impulsively slamming the ground as I used it to spring upwards, barely dodging the whirling death as it cut into my left boot, somehow missing the steel on the front. I breathed as I landed, quickly moving to my feet and taking my stance again, looking at her.

"You've got some skill at least" I commented, seeing her smile. That was when it hit me. She threw a boomerang.

Boomerangs always come back.

I turned quickly, hearing it coming back in the same line, diving to one side in an effort to avoid it, only this time failing, feeling it dig into my side before I hit the ground. I gasped, thankfully only cut by one blade, slowly lifting myself up again, shaking my head as I felt the pain, placing my spear arm on the section. Thankfully nothing more then a flesh wound, but still going to sting like a bitch. I looked at her, seeing her smiling as she held her boomerang ready.

OK, she's got a good combo on her. Let's see if she's a one hit wonder. I charged at her this time, watching her ready a few extra knives, throwing them as I got halfway towards her, only this time grabbing a second set and throwing them at a separate angle. I stopped, swinging my sword skyward to deflect the first wave and raising my spear to deflect the second, the blades themselves embedding in the wood. She then moved to throw the boomerang again, leaving me time to move. I swung my arm back, throwing the spear at her with everything I had, the chain rattling as the spear flew. She stopped her motion, diving to one side to avoid the javelin, nimbly landing on her hand, springing along whilst spinning to throw the weapon at me. I followed her, leaving the spear embedded, my hand staying low as I tried to drag the chain around her, hoping her lack of knowledge of our weaponry would play against her.

She smiled, throwing another set of knives at me, the blades flying at me, with not enough time to block with my sword. I smiled, she'd falling into my trap. I throw my arm back, grabbing my cape and throwing it at the blades, watching it quickly unravel and quickly pierced by silver. This was where I was glad I'm from the future. I had gotten it lined with good old chains, making sections of it impenetrable to weapons like that. Only thing that can truly get through that would be arrows and bolts. Swords and such however...let's face it, you can't protect yourself from everything. They didn't in medieval times from swords, they don't in this age.

As the cape slowly fell, I kept on running, now only in my leathers with nothing to drag me back. Zhu Rong threw a new set of blades, with a boomerang throw in the midst. I dived forward to get to the over side from my spear, diving over the boomerang and rolling under the blades, feeling some hitting the steel and bouncing off thankfully. I looked over to her, seeing her now standing over the chain, obviously not thinking it's anything out of place.

I smiled, yanking on the chain to start it pulling back, the links going taut as the spear quickly flew back, slamming Zhu Rong in the back as it returned. I charged forward at the same time, swinging my sword down with my spear at a different section. She quickly raised the blades on the 'rang, the weapons colliding before she shifted the angle, blocking the spear as well. I gritted my teeth, trying to force her back as she held me back with one hand.

She wasn't even trying. I watched her smile, seeing her pull her hand back, gasping before I jumped back, seeing three strands of silver slipping silently from her grasp to head to me. I dived once more, watching the blades fly over my head, doing a roll to get on my feet, standing up quickly.

She looked like she was enjoying this, throwing the 'rang up and catching it in her other hand with a grin. I quickly put the longsword away, giving the chain some slack before taking the spear off the gauntlet, spinning it quickly in my hand.

"Alright...if you're playing it that way..." I spoke, flexing my now spearless hand. "I'm gonna have to have to put you out" we began pacing around each other at this point, keeping an eye on one another. I tried to figure out if she had any more daggers on her.

"Better then you have tried, sweetie, and they have all turned to ash" She replied, juggling her 'rang once more. "This is Our Land, and if you wish to take it, then you will meet the unquenchable fires of the Nanman Spirit"

"If you haven't noticed, firebird, it's raining" I flipped the spear once more, thinking up a plan of any kind. "And this rain will do nothing to douse my spirits, but it will ruin the spirit of the people of Nanman" I held my free hand out. "If you haven't noticed, this rain has already worked to the detriment of your people...How long until that spirit is reduced to nothing but embers?" She didn't look any the worse for the revelation to hit her, but I knew that it had to hit home. It would have with me.

She slipped in her defensive stance, leaving me with a small opening. I quickly grabbed my crossbow, firing a bolt off at her leg, charging forward as I replaced the crossbow. She swung her 'rang skyward, her grin vanishing when she saw me. I threw myself into a slide, thrusting my spear upwards as I flew between her legs.

I pulled it back as I went by her, seeing blood on the tip, feeling the warmth on my face of her blood. I flipped myself up, turning to her and seeing her clutching her chest...OK, on one hand, I'm thankful I hit her chest because, of course, it's a chest hit, but I'm also thankful because it wasn't a certain OTHER area I could name (Hey, we may be enemies, and I may be more...erm...of a non-believer then the Nanman, but I care for my enemies, don't want them to be devoid of certain parts of their gender specific anatomy...and I don't want to know what'd happen if I destroyed the womb of a descendent of a god)

She turned around slowly, wiping her hand on her bra, showing me a deep wound on her chest, but acting like it was nothing. I couldn't help but gasp, cracking my neck and spinning the spear in my hand once more. Come the hell on, that would cripple most people. Then again, she's not most fighters. I smiled, knowing my work was cut out for me.

She threw the 'Rang at me, throwing some daggers at the same time and running at me. It was a moment of overload as I tried to figure out what to do, my body moving before my mind did. I flew to one side to dodge the 'rang, moving further to avoid the knives, but not reacting fast enough to avoid a swift uppercut, my face flying upwards. She carried this on, slamming a fist into my chest before bluntly jumping at me, forcing us both down to the ground, her on top of me, her legs around my chest, with my hands above my head. She grabbed her boomerang as it returned, wedging the blades next to my neck, starting to push it down. I moved my hand to grab the blunt end, trying to force it away whilst reaching for my spear, pulling slowly on the chain. She looked at me, seeing me reaching, lifting the 'rang up and slamming it down on the chain. I felt it snap, the chain falling slack as I pulled on it once more.

She grabbed a knife, lifting it over her head and holding it with both hands. I saw her, my hands moving as I had to grab her arms, the sliver of silver shining a mere inch from my eye. Fuck am I glad I grabbed that. My breath become altogether too shallow, seeing the gleam in her eyes as she figured that she was in a position of power. I guess she was dominating me to say the least. I had to get out of this somehow, and I had no idea how that was.

PING!

The blade suddenly flew to one side, saving my eye from getting the point of the matter, but cutting across my nose. We both paused, noting what had happened before acting. I got in first, letting her go and slamming my fist into her face, watching her recoil in pain. I then followed up, grabbing her hair and dragging her down to me. I put as much force as I had into it, slamming my head against hers, feeling the pain but watching her recoil once more. I slammed my fist into her chest once more, throwing her off me before scrambling backwards and grabbing my spear, shaking my head as I stood up.

I saw the broken arrow in the ground, looking over to the base and seeing Nu on the wall fighting off a group of soldiers. She was still covering my back, thank heavens for that. I saw Zhu Rong standing up slowly, grabbing her 'rang again and throwing it at me. I breathed, getting an idea in my head.

"Hey, Goddess of Fire!" I shouted, flipping over forward and going over the top of the weapon. My spear was thrust through the hole, keeping the momentum going and landing on my feet, spinning the rang on the end of the spear, feeling the weight of the thing on the wood. "Burn through this!" I pulled my arm back, throwing the 'Rang off the weapon and watching it fly towards the Amazon. She panicked, diving back away from me to duck under it, landing badly and sliding on her front. I charge at her as the 'rang went over her head, diving on top of her, grabbing her hair in a fist and slamming the spear into the ground by the side of her head.

"Yield!" I shouted in her ear, gritting my teeth as I did so. She tried to struggle at times, but eventually stopped, sighing and shaking her head.

"Looks like I'm burnt out" She spoke, sighing. "I yield...you got me" I breathed a sigh of relief, shaking my head. "Looks like you got me...now do it" I sighed, pulling my spear out of the ground and standing up off her.

"I know it might go against the Nanman spirit...but I'm going to allow you to live...if you run now" I backed away, holding my spear towards her. She looked at me, surprised as I reloaded the crossbow, but lifting herself up slowly.

"You sure about this hot stuff?" She replied, walking slowly over to her 'rang and picking it up.

"I best the Goddess. Seems the demon had his day" I told her, breathing a good sigh of relief. "Now go...but if you take me on, I won't hesitate" She sighed, putting it over her shoulder. "It's up to you what you do with your men...but I wouldn't be surprised my men have them" She started walking away, sighing again.

"You do what you will...see you another time" She walked off, leaving the battlefield behind her as I flipped my spear around, sad that the chain had broken. I also grabbed the cape, just putting it on my shoulder. Best way to finish this battle...

"It's time to clean up"

I walked away, knowing what my target was now.

King Meng Huo of The Nanman Tribe.

_Somehow I fought off the Goddess, and her combination of weapons._

_And for what it's worth...it was fun. Was definitely something I'd do again._

_But now I had to think of the future, Meng and Nu could handle the frontline on their own._

_I needed to think of Quan...and to do that I had to finish this battle...once and for all._


	55. Defy the Crown

OK, this has been hanging around long enough. Let's finish off Nanman shall we? It's going to be this then 1 or 2 chapters before the next major event. (Not Fan, but again, that's not going to be far away now)

Disclaimer: Don't own Dynasty warriors, Koei, Omega force or China. Su Zhi is owned by Lorze the Brookes. Blah de blah de blah. Buy DW7 EMPIRES! DO IT!

Chapter 55

Defy the Crown

_We didn't know a thing from our front, only that the Barbarians hadn't succeeded yet._

_I wasn't prepared to just stop, to assume Quan had succeeded in fighting off his enemy_

_Even with Su and Zhou, We'd need to keep acting our part in order to make sure we survived._

_And my part was to end this, once and for all._

The rain had intensified during my run towards the enemy main camp, becoming a haze of rain, with the odd stroke of lightning adding to the mix. I fought my way through the mud and the heat with my mind set. Lu Meng could yell all he wanted at me later, right now I just had to get this over and done with. I'm not a demon for no reason after all.

I saw a small group of enemies in the distance, slowing and kneeling down as I got closer. They were talking to each other, armed with a spear each. There were three of them...and none of them were looking at me or any where near my general vicinity. I grabbed my spear and crossbow, getting closer before stopping within quick running distance.

I needed to find out where the big man himself was...and for that...I needed a hostage. I quickly aimed the crossbow at one of them, lining up the shot before flipping the spear in my hand. Let's see...If I can take out one with a bolt, I can throw the spear at the second and threaten the third with my sword. Yeah, that would work...I hope.

I pulled the trigger on the crossbow, throwing the spear quickly before grabbing the hilt of my sword. I watched, seeing the bolt and spear hitting the skull and chest respectively, both victims falling quickly as the third quickly looked between the two, confused as I charged towards him. He turned as I drew my blade, moving it quickly towards his neck.

"Don't move a muscle" I told him. I saw him physically gulp, fear overtaking him as he dropped his spear, holding his hands up. "Take me to Meng Huo...and I'll let you go free" he nodded, turning slowly around and walking a bit. I grabbed my spear, standing on the shoulder of the corpse and yanking it out before walking after him. I had time to think about things as I walked. And guess what the first thing that came to mind was...

This was stupid...I know it is, I know Lu Meng will yell at me, Shang Xiang will tell me I'm taking too many risks, and Quan would probably chastise me for breaking orders. I'll take the hassle later, the path becoming rough as we walked, I placed a hand defensively on the hilt of my great-sword, paranoia entering my head.

We eventually came to a set of...apparently hastily set up, palisades, just in case we came here with cavalry. To give them credit, they had been prepared for us, even a tribe as primitive as this was prepared to take on the Wu army, and if we were struggling this much against tribes, then god, we were not going to be ready for Shu or Wei.

We walked along the sodden ground, now on more solid ground then before, thankfully, now within the camp grounds. I kept looking around, making sure that the area was clear of any kind of trap or ambush, traps or even the most obvious of apparent archers. I have no idea how many times I looked around the place, my head moving so quickly that everything in between was a blur.

"My King!" The soldier suddenly shouted. I turned forward, seeing a massive group of soldiers all bowing before this giant of a man, his arms crossed in front of him. I kept my blade up, seeing the soldiers all turning to me, the huge man not reacting. I gave him a look over, getting a better idea of what he looked like.

He was huge, at least a few feet taller then me. He was also very bulky, but I presume that's mostly muscle. I gulped, realizing why these people followed him if he was who I thought he was. His body was covered with red...paint with white outlines, and wore a pair of thick boots, which I can only presume came from an elephant, he had a sash on covering between his knees. He had a pair of bronze gauntlets on, both covered with a plate on the back, with several daggers attached to them, much like claws. He had a shield of sorts on his back, and on his head...a spiked helmet. He had a beard which covered under his nose all the way between his ears. He gave a deep, confident laugh.

"Who does this Moron think he is?" He spoke, his voice booming out. The soldiers before him scrambled up, grabbing their axes and surrounding me, the one in front of me dashing away from the sword. I scanned around again, seeing them around me, trying to figure out a way out of this situation. I was outnumbered at least 30 to 1, not to mention the monster of a man.

"Well...this could've gone better" I said to myself, flipping my sword in my hand. "Not the best of things...but still salvageable"

"What did you think you could do alone?" the huge man asked. I looked at him, seeing him walking towards the circle. "You pipsqueak"

"So I can take it that your Meng Huo" I spoke. The soldiers around me giving me half an angry look.

"How dare you address him as such!" one of them shouted at me. I turned towards him, cracking my neck. "You will call him King Meng Huo!"

"Yeah. Like I'm going to be doing THAT any time soon" I turned back to Meng Huo, staring him down. "Meng Huo...I am Fu Xi, Known as the Demon of Wu" I pointed my blade towards him, not breaking my stare. "Your fight ends here"

There was a stroke of thunder as I said this, the water flying off my blade as I stood there. There was a pause as we both kept on going, the soldiers around me circling me, each one wanting to kill me, ready to strike.

And then...He laughed. Meng Huo laughed the loudest laugh I've ever heard, his head turned skyward as he did so, having to pat his chest at times. This was not a good sign. There was another stroke of thunder, with which he slowed, turning to me and shaking his head, wiping away a tear.

"So, this mouse thinks it can slay the elephant" He spoke, lowering his arms and walking forward. "Give the King and this weakling some room" The soldiers turned to him, and I raised an eyebrow. Was he really going to do what I think he was going to do? "If he thinks he can take down the king...then let's give him a fight"

"But my King...Surely we should do this for you" They had a point, even I had to agree. Meng Huo shook his head, walking into the ring and cracking his knuckles.

"A King has to fight his own battles" He replied. I flipped my blade once more, getting into my normal stance as the circle expanded, grabbing the spear for my off hand.

We started circling each other, the Nanman soldiers all pacing around as well. I had no idea how to fight this guy, but got my mind in gear finally. I made the first move, charging towards him and swinging my blade at him. I didn't even see the reaction, only feeling my blade hit something. I looked at him, seeing him holding my blade in the air with the back of his gauntlet, barely moving as he held me up. I gritted my teeth, trying to force the blade down, only succeeding in getting him to force my blade away. I quickly followed up, stabbing at him with the spear, yet again, getting blocked before it impaled his chest. I quickly swung the sword again, now getting his right hand involved in the play.

I kept on going with this, every swing or stab getting blasted back by the gauntlets and his strength. I fell back at the fifth attempt, my feet slipping on the sodden ground. He took this moment to charge at me, slamming his fist into my chest, some of the blades digging in before I got sent flying backwards, flipping over backwards as I slammed against one of the wooden palisades, the soldiers watching me as I went by. I felt something pierce my back, shouting in pain as I let my sword and spear go.

I coughed, blood coming out of my mouth. I slowly pushed myself off, landing on the ground roughly, my knee barely keeping me up as I breathed heavily, shaking my head as I saw my chest. Four good stabs around my chest, and I wasn't even sure if he had hit anything major. I put a hand on it as I stood up, wiping my chin as I did so, seeing the crimson on it. Meng Huo laughed as I turned to him.

"The weak mouse hunched over before the King of Nanman" He gloated, the soldiers now laughing. I looked at him, spitting the blood out of my mouth. I grabbed my great-sword, unsheathing it quickly and grabbing it with both hands, charging straight at him. The weight that was behind this thing, even he should struggle to fight it off. I shouted as my feet carried me, binging the blade over my head, jumping forward at the last second as I swung at him.

Yet again, the sound of steel on steel, and being held in mid air, this time by the pair instead of just the one. I looked at Meng Huo, seeing him gritting his teeth, focusing on pushing me back. I lifted my great-sword up, letting his arms go skyward, then spinning around and attempting to slam my boot into his chest. He moved quicker then I thought he could, bring his hands down and grabbing my leg, panic striking me.

He smiled, spinning around once and slamming me head first into the ground. I heard something crack, felt something move as I crashed down, my arm erupting in pain. I rocked over forward, landing on my back, my breathing only just returning. Meng Huo paced around me, the soldiers laughing again.

"Feel like you've lost yet?" He asked. I breathed heavily, looking at my sword arm, feeling the agony of a dislocation. Fuck did it sting. I turned over slowly, grabbing my sword with my off hand, impaling it into the dirt in order to stand up slowly. I got to a kneeling position before hearing a mass of footsteps, looking at it and seeing Meng Huo running towards me, now kicking me with one of his boots. I lost my grip on my sword, flying away from it and landing several feet away, my shoulder now joining the pain. "Just give it up already" I put my good arm on the ground, lifting myself up slowly, coughing once more, seeing more blood flying.

This guy was bloody strong...this was not going to be easy...by any stretch of the imagination. I took a step too far coming out here, underestimating what the locals were capable of. This wasn't the age of empires for Europe. It wasn't gunpowder weapons against pointy stick. This was equal tech on equal tech. If anything we were only just a level above them weapons wise.

I managed to get myself onto my feet, seeing Meng Huo looking at me, wondering what I was going to do. I had to fix my arm, and the wounds on my chest weren't going any time soon. First thing was first...even though this was going to sting like a bitch. Quan...I'm thankful you got me those books now.

I'm not going into detail over this...as you really, really, REALLY, don't need to know how it works, but let's make a long story simple. I grabbed my arm, relaxing it and twisting the whole thing to relocate it, screaming out in pain as I did so. The first time didn't work, beginning a round of heavy breathing before I tried again, this time putting more force into it. I cried out once more, the sharp pain of this action flaring up, but the constant pain of the dislocation fading. I fell to my knees once more, swallowing before another round of heavy breathing, trying to fight my way through the pain.

"You don't quit do you?" Meng Huo asked, throwing the great-sword next to me, conveniently landing point down directly next to me, my longsword and spear nearby as well. I grabbed them, lifting myself up with them. "How thick skulled are you?"

"As much as I need to be" I told him, wiping my chin once more. "I'm not going to give up...no matter how bad it looks...I can still win this" I impaled my spear and sword into the ground, looking at Meng Huo. "And you know what...This thick skull of mine...is enough to take you down"

Meng Huo laughed once more, the Nanman soldiers joining in as I took the crossbow and quiver off my belt, putting them against the great-sword. I looked at him, shaking my head. "And this time...I'm not holding back" I unstrapped the cape, doing it back up around the hilt of the great-sword, then removing the steel off the front of my boots. I needed to be as light as possible for this. If I was going to win I needed to work at the weaknesses of this guy. And as brute force didn't do it, speed and strategy would have to.

Meng Huo saw me, taking a defensive stance as I did the same, stepping forward slightly before we paced again. This was going to be practically a boxing match, with knives on the gauntlets. I cracked my neck before charging in, seeing Meng Huo holding his gauntlets up. I put my hands on the back side of the gauntlets, jumping up onto them and then over his head, slamming my boot into his face before rolling down his shield. I landed behind him, swinging my leg around quickly, hooking his leg out from under him and tripping him up, water flying up around him.

I took my chance, running to stand on his chest and kneeling down, grabbing him by his beard before slamming my fist into his skull, watching him fall once more. I looked at his gauntlet, my eyebrows moving p and down as an idea hit me. I grabbed the back of it, putting my foot on his arm, yanking away at it with all my strength. Meng Huo recovered, seeing me and trying to swat me with his other arm.

I somehow got the plate off, jumping to avoid the arm and slamming my boot down into his face, doing a quick back flip away. I quickly looked at the plate, it looked like it was designed to go on the gauntlet itself, with a ring for the arm. I quickly readjusted, finding it somehow easy to bend under my strength, then slashing bending sections of it to fit around my arm instead. That'll be something entertaining.

"You Pesky fly!" He yelled as he got back up. I quickly put the plate on, flexing my hand within it. Somehow I could move my arm within it perfectly fine, in fact it felt as if I was only wearing it, and it wasn't a piece of armour at all. "I'm gonna crush you under my heel!" I took a new stance, making sure the plated arm was forward, ready to use his old weapon against him. His gauntlets though still covered his hands. Hell, they looked like pure steel hands, this was going to be hell.

He charged at me, yelling at the top of his lungs towards me, swinging his fist towards me. I quickly moved out of the way, throwing my free hand to his face, connecting somehow. He flinched, but then threw his armed hand at me, forcing me to commit the gauntlet against him. The pair collided, both of us jumping back as we met, the rain flying off it. I charged back in, watching him swing his arm at my head, to which I ducked under, not seeing the moving foot. I quickly punched him with the knives, the blades digging into his bulky foot, his face lighting up a treat as he started hopping away from me. I kept pushing the assault, charging again at him and grabbing his shoulder, throwing several punches at his gut, my arm hurting more with each one, then finishing it off with a clothesline to his face.

He fell once more, leading me to act once more, mounting him and slamming the gauntlet into his chest several times. I don't know how many times I hit him, four, five? It all passed in a blur. But at some point, I looked at his other arm, seeing the second plate and going for it. I got it off very quickly this time, feeling very smug with myself.

But I rested on my laurels. Meng Huo reacted quicker this time, grabbing my arm and slamming me into the ground next to him. My back exploded in agony as I hit ground zero, my hand still on the gauntlet piece. I gasped, then worse happened as Meng Huo turned the tables, climbing over me and getting ready to rain punches down. I acted quickly, bending the iron to fit my gauntlets.

He threw the first punch, hitting the side of my face, blood flying as I felt the full force of his strength. He threw a second, the same again happening, then following with a quick third, then a fourth, and fifth. I was acting as best I could, trying to get my arms in place to block. Punch six and seven came in, with Meng Huo rearing up for punch nine. I scrambled to pulled my fists up, acting too late and getting the full force of him once more.

I lost control at this point, my body going numb before my breathing left me. My eyes were drifting around lazily as my body refused to move under my own will. Meng Huo stopped raining down punches as my vision started fading.

Was this it? Was this where I met my end? Isolated, overextended, over-confident? This whole thing was a mess...Who'd a thought that the Nanman Barbarians were this strong? I breathed again, getting enough strength in me for one last move. I saw Meng Huo ready for one more punch.

"My name...is Fu Xi..." I spoke, gritting my teeth as I clenched my fists, feeling more strength coming back. "And I am the Demon!" I threw a boot up, slamming my knee into his crotch, seeing his face contort in pain. I repeated it, three, four times, eventually getting the bastard to roll off me, rolling around in pain. I slowly got myself back up, shaking my head and going onto my knees.

I breathed heavily, the Nanman soldiers unsure of what to do, save their king, or leave him to his duel. I looked at Meng Huo, seeing him getting back up himself, on his knees as well. I unsteadily took to my feet, swaying all over the place as I turned to face him, breathing heavily as I took my stance. He turned to me, his face a mess as was his chest. I didn't want to know what I looked like.

"Why...how can you..." He spoke, crashing down to one knee. "Why do you..." He fell down to the ground finally, fainting. I breathed a sigh of relief as the Nanman soldiers scrambled around their lord.

"If you want, take him to safety...I won't pursue" I told them. They all nodded, grabbing Meng Huo and dragging him away from me. I wandered over to my great-sword, sitting down next to it and resting my back against it, hearing numerous footsteps.

"LORD FU XI!" I heard someone yell. My vision was fading again, then seeing a number of soldiers appear in front of me. "Quick, someone get a medic!" I smiled, thankful they had gotten here.

"You've got...a good sense of timing" I told them. They could only smile in return.

_I had acted as though we were better then the locals._

_We weren't...we were only 'civilised', and that doesn't mean we're better_

_look at how the Romans did with the barbarian tribes of Europe._

_But I had gotten the job done...barely. And then stolen a neat idea._


	56. Look as bad as you feel

You know...it's taken this long to get past Nanman...this long to get to the end of what I call the second stage of the war (calling up to Chi Bi the first btw) and I know that people are looking forward to that considering how this story is set up. To be honest, having 2 per force (at least by the way) who know each other (albeit Derrick and Melissa barely) is going to be entertaining to work through at least. Heck, Fan is going to be entertaining as that is where the first Wu/Shu face off occurs, and I have a plan there as well.

I also thought about a few things which I found out and had to think over in the history. Obviously, if you know the games or the history, you'll know of a few things that I have to work around.

Anyway...where was I...oh yes. DICLAIMIER: I don't care for disclaimers. I don't own Dynasty warriors blah de blah de blah.

Chapter 55

'Look as bad as you feel'

_Somehow we had all gotten out of the mess in one piece thanks to my actions._

_I had nearly gotten my ass handed to me, only just managing to take down Meng Huo._

_But at least I got a trophy for my troubles._

_I just had this feel I'd regret doing this..._

"You know, I have to ask sometimes" Nu spoke, pacing as myself and Meng were being treated by the army's doctors. We were sat down in a tent, on some stools and surrounded by medical gear. "If you can ever not pull the hero act and just keep doing the job you were given" I winced as a bandage was wrapped over my chest wounds, swallow back the pain.

"It got the job done" I told her, turning to Meng and seeing him leaning on his halberd. "You OK there, Lu Meng?"

"I'll live...starting to wonder if that 'Goddess' was really burning things up" Oh god, the jokes. Lu Meng turned away at this, someone entering the tent as Nu turned to it.

"You're late Chen" Nu spoke. I turned to the entrance, seeing a Shu officer looking us over.

"My apologies lady Nu Wa" She closed the flap behind her, bowing to her. "I encountered some enemy soldiers on the way, and I had to deal with the supplies we were sending to Jing Province" She walked over to me and Meng, looking between us. "Are these the two I heard of as I entered?"

"Yep, Meng and Xi respectively. Meng took a dagger to the back and Xi...well"

"Looks like he got into a fight with an elephant and lost"

"That's almost right" I told her. Well it was half true, he was as big and strong as an elephant. I heard Meng groan as he tried to move.

"Lord Lu Meng. You need to stay here" one of the doctors told him, Meng fought him off, lifting himself up and using his halberd as a crutch.

"I need to fulfil my duty to Lord Sun Quan" He replied, walking slowly over to the tent flaps. I watched him, Chen getting in the way of the door, forcing Meng to stop. "Get out of the way, My lady"

"Lord Lu Meng, if you don't get that wound seen to, the wound will only make things worse for you" Chen tells him, Lu Meng turning away. "Not only will it keep you off the front lines and away from active duty, it could also lead to your death, especially in this environment. Lord Fu Xi is also in the same condition, but he's doing the wise thing"

Meng looked back at Chen, I couldn't tell what face he was pulling, but my knowledge of him made me think he was thinking things over. She was making perfect sense, that's what Meng didn't like. It wasn't the fact that it was someone telling him he needed to relax and not do his job, he took that from our officers enough.

It was coming from a Shu officer. That was what was burning him up inside. As much as I liked the officers of Wu and Shu, we always had divisions in ideology. I just hoped this didn't lead to anything worse.

Meng turned away from Chen eventually, spitting at the ground in contempt. This was killing him inside, knowing that she was right, but as he sat down, I knew he'd live to be able to thank her. I had a bit of a chuckle as the medics patched up my chest.

"Look on the bright side Meng" I told him, smiling then wincing as they bandaged a wound with a herb that stung like a bitch. "If I look as bad as you feel, then you know she's right" Everyone in the tent looked at me as I said that, only getting a chuckle in response. I looked around, the awkward silence only broken by the rain and thunder.

And then...the one thing I never thought would ever happen occurred, making this a miracle in itself.

Lu Meng started laughing...heartily.

We all turned to him, seeing him laughing his heart out. Nu shook her head, laughing a bit as well, and Chen herself was just moving away from the tent flaps. I guess this was something no one could ever predict, not even the best of both sides.

Despite the line Chen had pulled out, I left the tent almost as soon as the medics were done with me. Like Meng, I wasn't one to just sit around doing nothing, but unlike Meng, I did stupid things at times. Heck, the last battle going on alone. For what it was worth, I was like a freaking Cyclops with a bandage over my eye...the same one I had gotten the scar over before. I'm guessing I had a to deal with this at some point. Was this wound going to keep acting up or was it going to heal? I had to know eventually.

I was barely surprised when the soldiers were looking at me as I wandered through them, staring at the number of wounds I had covering me and yet I remained walking. I didn't even have an objective of such, I had been told that my weapons were being taken care of by Shang Xiang whilst I was getting treated, same with the iron side of my armour. Thank god most of it was the leather. I had re-purposed the cape as a kind of cover for the bandages over my chest, but it just looked...weird. And that's coming from the guy who has to wear it.

"Didn't think you'd be out so soon" I heard someone say. I turned towards them, seeing Su walking up to me, looking worse for wear herself. "Any news on Tong?" Wait, wha?

"Tong got injured?" I asked. She gave me an icy stare at this point, sighing.

"An Elephant knocked him out...haven't heard anything about him since...last I knew they were fixing him up" my mouth opened slightly as I gasped, but then looking down, eye half closed as I looked away from her.

"...sorry" I told her, looking back. She shook her head.

"You couldn't have done anything Fu...you did what you had to...just be thankful we're still here, alive and kicking" Literally in her case. I nodded, walking up to her and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"He'll make it...I know he will" I told her. She smiled, nodding back.

"If he doesn't I'll kill him myself" I wasn't entirely sure if she was joking to be honest, but I smiled anyway. "What about Meng? I heard he got injured"

"Dagger in the back. But now we can add pissed off at Shu to the list" She raised an eyebrow at this point, but otherwise remained silent. "Come on...we've got to get packed up to leave...not going to hang around here forever...and you've got a wedding coming up"

She nodded, smiling to me as we both went back to our routines...well, she did. I did whatever I was doing before, which was just mindlessly wandering.

I made my way into the command tent, seeing Quan talking to Xun and Shang Xiang. The trio stopped, turning to look at me as I entered. I walked over to the table, looking over it as if nothing was wrong.

"Sorry I'm late" I told them, looking between the trio. "What have I missed?" Quan and Xun both looked at me with concern, Shang Xiang walking around the table and throwing her arms around me.

"Fu Xi" She spoke. I gritted my teeth as she put pressure on some wounds.

"Shang Xiang...could you..." she pulled back, taking her arms away before looking at me.

"Sorry...didn't think..."

"Relax...I can understand it..."

"Lord Fu Xi, you should be resting. We don't want you dying of a wound you didn't let heal" Lu Xun told me. I looked at him, sighing.

"I understand Xun...I won't be dying any time soon" I turned to Quan, nodding to him. "Anyway, I have to fulfil my duty right now"

"As long as you feel you are well, Lord Fu Xi, I won't question it. But at the point when I believe that you are beyond your limit, I myself will take you off the front line" He told me. I nodded, knowing that he'd be able to tell that much having known me this long.

"So...what have I missed?"

"We were discussing who we should send to Shu in our agreement" Xun told me, pointing to the map.

It was practically a map of the Three Kingdoms as it stood, with generally how both Shu and Wu were deployed. It was weird looking at the map as it was. The North belong to Wei, with Shu owning Yi and southern Jing. We now held the southern most province of China, with the East in our hands as well. It had what we knew of troop deployments around the country, with a large group of Shu troops around Northern Jing. Guan Yu's Battalions pushing up I presumed. There was also a large group around Han Zhong, so I guess that's where Liu Bei will be next.

"If Shu seeks to attack Wei at Han Zhong...then we'd need to send someone who is good at assaulting entrenched positions" Lu Xun spoke, pointing to the area. "Mount Ding Jun is bad to attack, even if the enemy are unprepared for you"

"Then we'd be looking at sending Lady Su Zhi or Lord Lu Meng, and that would help Lu Meng learn more of Zhuge Liang" Quan replied.

"But, if Shu were to strike at Wan castle, then we'd need someone who has participated in a siege and knows Jing"

"So That would call for either Lord Gan Ning, Lord Ling Tong, or Lord Ding Feng" I looked over the table, nodding a few times.

"Who have we got that's good in both situations?" I asked, looking at them. Xun put a hand under his chin.

"Well...we have you, of course, Lord Zhu Huan or Lord Zhu Ran" Not going to ask why Su Zhi isn't in either list, but I presume she's getting a let off due to her marriage.

There was a long pause at this point, everyone thinking over the options we had available before us and wondering what was best. Whoever we sent would be gone for a while, and then we don't know if Shu would turn on us whilst they were out. That was when it hit me...the best choice was one with friends on that side.

"I'll go" I told them, everyone turning to me in surprise. "Give me time to heal up and I'll go and be the exchange officer"

"You can not be serious" Shang Xiang spoke. I nodded, turning to her.

"I am...we need one who can deal on both fronts with the issues presented, along with the simple fact that with Nu Wa and Shinra over there, I have a better chance of getting back then most of Wu does" I turned back to the others, doing the best I could to smile. "Besides...with the skills I have...I'm one of the best for the job"

"This isn't going to be easy Lord Fu Xi" Lu Xun started telling me. I looked at him, seeing him take his hat off. "Not only will you be fighting Wei a lot, but I wouldn't be surprised Zhuge Liang will be trying to get you to join Shu...not to mention the ties you hold with your friends" I gave him a toothy grin at this point.

"I'm an officer of Wu my friend" I told him, giving him a wink, but then realising it was hidden behind the bandage. "I won't be betraying our side any time soon"

_Thinking about it, maybe I shouldn't have volunteered._

_It would have been nice having some downtime to recover from getting smashed to the ground by Meng Huo._

_But really...it's something I needed to do. I don't know why I just had to._

_But little did I know how much I would know why that was..._

* * *

Just thinking about it, yes, I am aware that Shang Xiang is meant to die in 222. For what it's worth I have an idea of how I'm going to run that, but I've also had the annoying thing about what I traded for that. I'll let you see what I mean later on.


	57. Whatever the hell happened to you

Must not ruin my rhythm before I run out of steam. Here goes another one. And yes, look forward to Fan and Yi Ling. I am :D

so yes, in the vein of 'I can suddenly update', I'm trying to get these out as quick as I can before I lose the magic of that. so now, with everything going, I'll be in the rear with the beer.

by the way, if you like this tale so far, please go and read 'Warrior of Art' by Lorze the Brooks, I love it, this is inspired by that, and I'm sure that you'll enjoy it's touches as much as I have. Besides, she's got a different style to me.

Chapter 57

….Whatever the hell happened to you

_We got back to Wu in one piece somehow. Saying that I didn't have to walk._

_Quan was eager to make sure I was alright...especially considering how things were going_

_Nu and Chen had gone back to Shu, agreeing that I could have some time to heal up before heading out._

_I just had to focus on resting up..._

Almost as soon as we got back to Wu, Quan took me off active duty, all but putting me under house arrest in my room in the palace. You could tell me that my wounds were that bad...but really...I could get everything done as normal, and steel rusts when out of use if you get my drift. Thankfully I had something in my room to do.

Like reading...lots and lots and lots of reading...

I was in barely anything, the medics too concerned that I might open a wound once more when move around considering the amount of training I actually do to keep my edge. The soldiers posted outside had been ordered to keep me in, but were in a group of three, with one who would run off to do jobs for me. Hell, he'd already been sent off to get my weapons and armour fixed. Hopefully it wouldn't be some second rate crap. And there was also the resizing of the stolen gauntlets so that I could get them on with a better fit.

I sat in my room, reading with my one uncovered eye a book on strategic engagements on mountains where the defender lost and how it came about. And might I just comment here it's weird reading with one eye. Not only is it hard to turn a page when you need to but god I misread sections at times.

So far, my reading material of today has come down to books on fighting siege battles and fighting battles on mountains...and so far I had found bugger all to help out. So far the siege on the attack was literally either siege them out, burn them out or smash your way in. the mountain side was literally the defenders messing up somehow.

How in the hell was I going to help on either front? Well I guess being a meat shield was always a potential plan. Not exactly my style if I was honest. There was always using the weather against them but chances are we'd be fighting in the sun and not the rain...and especially not at night. If it were night time, Shinra would be perfect, but chances are it'd be day time.

I put the book down as I finished it, sighing and leaning back on the stool, shaking my head. This was boring as hell. Why couldn't I just go out somewhere calm and relaxing, like the old river we normally go to. Just something other then reading a damn book, closing it, putting it to one side, picking up another one. Just ANYTHING.

I heard a knock at the door, sighing again and turning to it, seeing Shang Xiang there, smiling at me with what looked like a box in her hand. I raised an eyebrow, wondering what she was up to.

"May I come in?" She asked, looking at me expectantly. I nodded to her, turning around on my stool.

"You may...anything to break the monotony" I told her. She walked in, putting the box down at one side and giving me a quick kiss.

"How are you feeling?" She asked me, grabbing a spare stool and sitting next to me. I sighed, shaking my head.

"Aside from bored and annoyed...Generally all right" I smiled, shaking my head again. "Why am I reminded of Xiahou Dun right now?"

"Well, you kinda look like him...except a lot better looking" The one eyed general of Wu...why doesn't that raise my confidence? "I could really hit you right now" Where the...

"What for?" She put her arm around me, resting her head on my shoulder.

"Going out on your own during the attack on Nan Zhong...that was beyond stupid" She spoke, shaking her head on me. "I don't know what I would've done if you had died"

"I'm still here...I don't intend on dying any time soon" I gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, rubbing her arm. She smiled, both of us just sat in silence for a while, just enjoying the moment...annoyingly someone had to end it.

"Do you know how to play Go?" She asked, motioning to the box thing. I raised an eyebrow, almost confused.

"Never heard of it"

"Well...it's something new for you to learn"

We set up outside in the bright sun shine of the day, Shang Xiang showing me how to play the game. For what it was worth, it was familiar. Go basically played out on a large bored with...god knows how many squares. We had a number of chits (as I called them) and the idea was to surround the opponent's pieces to capture them and take them off the board. The winner was the one who had the most pieces captured at the end of play. Playing it, it felt like a larger but somehow simpler version of 9 man's Morris, which made sense oddly.

So far, considering it was my first time playing it, and more then likely having Shang Xiang going easy on me, it was like 3 to 2. we had made small talk at times and it was always thing to do with day to day. I had a feeling there was something I was missing during this whole exchange.

"So Brother's got a day lined up for when he intends on sending you off to Shu to begin our exchange" Shang Xiang spoke as she placed a piece down, taking one of mine.

"Oh, and when is that?" I quickly responded, quickly responding to her move by capturing one of her pieces.

"If your wounds heal as fast as they have been, he's saying that you can go at the end of the month, really depending on how your eye heals"

"My eye isn't the issue from my end of things" I looked at her, giving her a smile. "Its the scar once more, acting the hell up" Shang Xiang put a piece down, looking at me.

"That wound never has healed properly has it" I shook my head, looking over the board "I think...back home this was a Chronic wound or something...and saying that I don't think many soldiers have wounds that don't heal over the course of years" I put a piece down on the board again, leaning back. "Hell, I thought this would have healed by now, and not decided to play merry hell up every five minutes" Shang Xiang sighed at this point, shaking her head.

"Last time I heard of anything that bad...it was from Lord Huang Gai, remarking about his scars from Chi Bi" She put a piece down, looking at me. "Only thing was his wounds were deep and took a lot longer to heal. Hell, it's why he had to retire"

"He retired? I'd heard he died" I looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, to the outside world, he died after he burned the Wei Fleet. To us, he was practically forced to retired by some of the more superior members of the army, for his own health"

"Surprised they haven't tried with me"

"You're young, as opposed to Huang Gai who was elderly" Well, I wouldn't call myself young any more. It must be YEARS since I came here. I shook my head, placing a piece down.

"Guess he wasn't altogether happy over that"

"He begged me to let him stay as a bodyguard...unfortunately I was about to be sent to Liu Bei as his bride, which you dealt with...too late for me to be able to tell him he didn't have to retire" I sighed at this. Shame I didn't act quicker in that case. She put a piece down, taking one of mine off. I didn't speak for a bit, finding this line of conversation kinda...sad as I made my move.

"Su asked how you were doing" She spoke, breaking the small silence. "Apparently she's still eager to see you at the wedding" I smiled, looking in and seeing the ocarina set to one side.

"Well, I'll still be playing at the wedding if it comes to it. Even if I have only one eye it's not going to stop me"

"Well...it would be but..." She made her move, stopping as if she was stepping on something. "No, ignore me, doesn't need saying" I looked at her, seeing her eyes trying to avoid me"

"'But' what?" I asked her. She shook her head, getting me to keep looking at her. "Shang Xiang...what?" She sighed, shaking her head.

"Don't tell Quan you know...but the day you leave for Shu, after Quan has allowed you to rest up and recover...that day is her wedding" Wait...what?

"You mean I miss the wedding altogether right?" Shang Xiang nodded, getting a sigh from me. "I guess on one hand it's a good thing considering this face would probably put a dampener on proceedings, not to mention I'll be ready to go to Shu with less of a crowd"

"And the other hand?" I lent in as she said this, both of us making moves.

"It would be nice to see the pair of them actually getting married. I'm sure Gan will be having a good time"

"I won't be" Shang Xiang admitted, sighing and leaning back. I looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "I won't be able to enjoy myself knowing your risking your tail in some far off land for some foreign lord"

"You know technically everyone's a foreign lo-"

"Don't ruin the moment, please. This might be the last we have before you go" I fell silent at this point, knowing she was so serious it was scary. "I want you by my side...if I know we're fighting on the same battlefield then I know that at the very least that I can be the one to keep you safe" I sighed, putting a piece down to the side of the board.

"You want me to be honest Shang Xiang" I started, looking at her. "I don't really want to go...I know someone has to...and let's face it, if anything goes wrong, I've got the best chance of getting out of there in one piece. I'd feel a lot more secure knowing that we were on the same battlefield, or ven fighting alongside one another. I don't even know if Liu Bei would hold you against me"

She sighed, leaning in close and giving me a kiss again. She then made an 'ah' noise before looking at me, crawling around until she sat directly next to me, giving me a mischievous grin. She had an odd scheme in mind...this wasn't going to end well.

"May I borrow your hand?" She asked me, holding her hand out for me. I blinked, looking downa and flipping my hand over, seeing the number of wounds on it, then giving her it.

"As long as you don't tear it off nor mind blood, here you go" I told her, placing it carefully on hers. Shang Xiang smiled, turning it and looking over every detail.

"This is something I learned from some traders from beyond the oceans" Wait, Wu trades with Japan? Sweet, never knew that...either that or the Korean Peninsula or even the Pacific islands. "I think they said that came from East Lau"

….Really...OK, just something to note, East Lau...is not China...yet. It's like just North of the Korean. Guess it's somewhere the Chinese can go to later on. I know Wei hasn't decided to expand there yet, considering He Bei is like directly next to it, I'm surprised everyone has just ignored it altogether. At least Fu has an excuse being a desert, and south of Yi is pure jungle.

She ran her fingers along my hand, only barely making me wince as she ran her finger over the fresh wounds. She was trying...to cause me pain. She made hums every now and then as she came across something...I presume, but was trying to be gentle.

"OK...Here's what I can tell" She told me, holding my palm so I could see as she pointed things out. "As your sword arm...from what I remember, this has more of an effect on your life on the battlefield, so will be relevant to you right now" I just nodded as she pointed things out. "This basically means you will be, practically, a demon on the battlefield" Hence the name 'Demon Of War'. "You'll be able to push yourself to limits unknown, even by you...and your skills will be among the best in the land" Tell that to just about every officer here. "Oh, your middle finger tells a massive tale. Apparently you will be a very strange person" I laughed at this point, shaking my head and looking at her.

"Well, considering my name is Craig and I'm not from China, that explains that one" I laughed,

Shang Xiang joining in with the laughter.

"OK, OK, that easy enough" She looked over my fingers once more, running a finger around my palm in one of those boyfriend girlfriend manners. "Apparently you won't be the only one fighting in your family"

"Does that cover extended family? As I presume that means the Sun Clan"

"Thankfully it does, unless you have a brother or sister out here" I chuckled.

"Fu Xi and Nu Wa were either Brother and Sister, or Husband and Wife under the mythology" I told her. She gave me a weird look, shaking her head.

"Not thinking of running to Nu for a new relationship whilst you're in Shu are you?" I shook my head.

"Why look in Shu for what I have in Wu?" I asked her, giving her a smile. "I'm a one woman guy"

"You should hope so. I wouldn't be surprised Quan would make sure you regretted cheating on me" She moved my hand, moving to take the other one.

"The only reasons I'll break up with you is if either of us die or we just don't work out...and so far we have been"

"Yeah, even though sometimes I feel like I should be killing you instead of being with you" I chuckled, looking down at her as she played with my other arm. "Oh, this is interesting. Your Personal relationships and family in the future is here"

"What? Really?" She nodded, playing with my palm again.

"So, you've got four lines here to read from...and apparently it's how you will be going on during your time and how long you'll be here for" I nodded, getting interested in this. "So...you'll live for around...wow, 70 years. You'll almost be as old as Huang Gai" So if I was born 187 in this world...I'd live to see the year 257 at least. Wow...I'd be an old blighter.

"Here's hoping the wars over before then" I told her.

"Apparently...you'll marry young" ish. 31 is kinda old these days. "And you'll have...two kids...twins" twins? And here I was not thinking of kids at all. "Your life isn't going to be easy" I'm a soldier, what do you expect? "But it will be worth it after all the turmoil" Damn straight it will be. "But there will be a choice to be made at points in your life...choices that will have consequences"

"Consequences?" I asked her. She put my palm down, smiling.

"I wouldn't take that too seriously" She put her arm around me again. "As much as everyone will tell you that divination is everything...it's not. It's just something to enjoy as a bit of entertainment every now and then"

"All right then, if that's the case, then tell me, what do you get with your relationships?" She smirked, playfully punching me. I gasped as she hit one of my wounds.

"Gladly" She held her hand out, showing it to me. "I've done it so many times, I know it like...well, like my own hand" I would say she knows it like the back of her hand, but it's the front of. "Married young, either I will bear twins and see peace, or have a life of disaster after disaster after disaster...and considering how Wu was..."

I looked at her as she said this, seeing her suddenly fall downcast. She was believing that she was going to die before this whole thing was over. She had two separate fates, and she was so depressed over the second part of it that she was more then likely not bothered about the first part of that. I had heard tales of Wu's start, with the death of Sun Jian and Sun Ce, her father and brother. I put my hand on her arm, rubbing it.

"I'm not about to let you die before me" I told her, smiling. "And I'm only going to die when this whole mess is over and dealt with" She smiled back, giving me a kiss on the lips.

"I don't know why Fu..." She paused, blinking twice and looking away, a blank look on her face before she turned to me. "I don't know why Craig...but ever since you and Nu and Shinra and Su came here...things have been...different...I don't know how to explain it but...the atmosphere is lighter...I just think...things would have been different if you hadn't been" Well, you'd be with Shu right about now. "I don't know how you came to this place...nor if you are lying about your story...nor if you suffer from some amnesia...but..."

She stood up, putting her arms around me and sitting on my legs, facing me. I looked at her, seeing her smiling. I smiled back, putting my arms as best I could around her, giving her a wink (hidden by the bandage again) and simply looking her in the eyes.

"I'm glad I met you...whatever the hell happened to you..." She admitted.

"And I'm glad to have met you...whatever the circumstances of me meeting you" I spoke, giving her a smile.

_I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't have come here._

_Maybe I'd've finished school...gotten a job, who knows, maybe I'd've made something of myself._

_But really...I don't really care. I found something amidst this madness of war._

_I'd walked into hell...and found my angel..._

Sorry Su...it's my best way of not doing something wrong in the wedding scene :( then there's how am I going to get enough time to go to Shu and back for Fan.

Either way, you know where this is heading folks. next chapter is the last section for this side before we get to the events surrounding Fan. And yes, I will have something. I don't know if I'm going to get to Yi Ling any time soon, but I know I have things to plan out. Especially considering how history plays out.

Saying that, if Wu wins, that's meddling with history as is so...yeah, gotta plan something. 'sides, there is a scheme to this. who knows, I might actually overtake Lorze. (I know, it's almost amazing considering how long it's actually taken) Remind me to tell her that at some point.


	58. Think on the future

Yeah, I'm still going. How in the hell I can I'll never know but still, rocking it and hoping to make this another one. Hell, once this is out the way, Fan is going to be a breeze.

….it's kinda weird that I said Nanman was going to be the hard part and somehow, getting through it, I've gotten back to my old form. Just hope these aren't suffering as a result.

TALLY HO!

Chapter 58

Think on the future

_It was unfortunate that the day I had to leave was the day Su was having her wedding._

_I was looking forward to seeing it, thinking off all the death we had around these days._

_But then I had to do my job, and that required me to be elsewhere._

_Shu was calling...and I had to do some kind of answer..._

You ever tried to...ignore a mass of silence hanging around you? You ever looked and noticed that when people see you are trying to be normal is out of place? I'm having one of those days, getting the entirety of my gear together, heading AWAY from the wedding of the year. Hell, even the stable was eerily silent as I was saddling Hell Runner up with enough to get me to Cheng Du, food, water, everything. It was bad enough having to prepare with two eyes, but right now, I was working on one, still hadn't fully healed yet.

"I find it hard to believe" I heard Gan start, ignoring him as I kept sorting my things out, making sure my spear was tightly secure, the chain attacked to a section of the reins. "That I'm looking at the same brat who joined Huang Zu at Jing" He walked up alongside me, giving me a cheerful smile.

"But your the same old Gan Ning of the Bells" I replied, turning away and grabbing my great-sword and sheathing it on my back. "You know what they say Gan: the more things change-"

"The more things stay the same..." He finished, giving me a pat on the back. "saying that, Would'a thought you'd be at the wedding. Gonna miss the beauties on show from Shang Xiang and Su" I gave him a smile, shaking my head and putting my hand on his shoulder.

"Unfortunately my friend, I can't. Politics. Gotta ship out to Shu for a period and make sure things don't go to hell for them" I strapped my longsword to the other side, keeping my gauntlets on my back as well. "Make sure it goes well for me would you?"

"That won't be necessary" I blinked, both of us turning and seeing Lu Meng walking over to us, hobbling on his Halberd. "I have made sure nothing will get in the way for them today. Whilst a majority of the actual organising was done by Shang Xiang and the Qiaos, along with Lu Xun's Wife" Xun is married? "As for you, I made sure that the routes are clear on the way to the Wu-Shu border, so it should be a fine ride for you as you go" He looked outside, smiling. "Seems to be perfect weather for it as well"

"Hey old man...are you sure you should be up and walking? Didn't think that wound had healed fully for you"

"It's healed enough Gan...I have my job to do as well" He turned back to us, giving me a smile. "Get going Fu...you don't want to keep them waiting"

I shook my head, turning away from him and climbing Hell Runner, cracking my neck as I got comfortable. I knew the way, it was a simple enough route, and Nu and Chen were meeting me on the border so I couldn't get lost at that point. It was around a 5 day ride at least, so I was going to be getting bored at some point if I was bluntly honest.

I turned Hell Runner to the side as I made to make my exit, looking at Gan and Meng. This was going to be the last time I was seeing anyone from Wu in ages. I made Hell Runner walk out, Gan and Meng following me out into the deserted streets. I could hear god knows how loud the people were being from the wedding. I sighed, turning my horse away from it before looking at Gan and Meng.

"Give the Bride and Groom my regards" I told them, urging Hell Runner into a gallop, leaving the city behind me. It was better to leave this behind, just let it be a memory before I regretted my decision.

_It was hard to leave it behind again...it was easier when I knew I was coming back_

_but I didn't know if I was returning or not...and it was better to go before anyone began tearing up._

_The ride itself was pleasant...well..._

_save for one interruption_

I had been riding for about three days when it happened. I was riding through a forested route, with little view of the sun and with the birds singing just about everywhere. It was kinda peaceful to be fair. I had ridden by some peasants here and there, mostly lumberjacks and such.

I was leaning back on my saddle, relaxing as the horse just walked the route it wanted, which conveniently was where I wanted to go. It was oddly comfortable, either that or my ass had gotten used to it after so long riding. Eventually he stopped. I blinked a few times, looking around before moving at all.

"This doesn't look like Jing" I spoke, lifting myself up.

"That it isn't. Your knowledge of the land is starting to reveal itself, Lord Fu Xi" I blinked, gasping as I moved to a sitting position, looking ahead of Hell to see...you've got to be kidding me.

"Zuo Ci?" He nodded to me, having changed nothing over the many years I had been here. "Why are you here?"

"I thought you would benefit from the wisdom this old man can tell you" He walked to one side, holding a set of red cards in his hand. Too long to be anything from my time...only problem was card shouldn't exist in China. Not until the Europeans went to Egypt did any form of card appear. I climbed down from Hell Runner, grabbing my water skin and taking a drink.

"Well, what can I do you for then?" I asked him, sighing. "Considering that I've never seen you in the flesh for what...18 years?"

"I believe there are things we need to talk about" The cards left his hand, flying around the pair of us in a circle, steadily speeding up, eventually becoming a blur.

The scene around us faded quickly, being replaced by a foggy, blurry greyscape. I grabbed my great-sword, keeping it sheathed but ready to be drawn at a moments notice. Zuo Ci walked up to me slowly, acting as if nothing had happened. I was quickly looking around, trying to figure out where the hell we were.

"Do not be alarmed, Lord Fu Xi" He told me, acting as if this were normal, his feet splashing in something. "This is nothing to be concerned over. Please, relax" I looked at him, raising an eyebrow as he motioned me to follow. I kept my hand ready, but followed. "There is much for you to see" both our feet splashed in some...unfelt liquid. I looked down, seeing no water at all.

"You are heading for Shu...correct?" I nodded, Zuo Ci getting more cards appearing in his hand to fan himself. "It is not an uncommon rumour around the lands of Jian Ye or Yi Province for no matter" He threw a card up, turning around and stopping. "Allow me to show you the potentials"

"Potentials?"

"You will see Lord" the card started spinning, then suddenly flew as fast as a lightning bolt, cutting through the air, leaving trails behind it. "Your path is one that is prone to change, but can lead to disastrous or amazing fates" I raised an eyebrow, shaking my head. "Allow me to show you" the places where the card had cut began to open up, the fog falling to pieces and disintegrating, being replaced by darkness. Only myself and Zuo Ci were visible, both of us glowing somehow.

The darkness soon faded, leading to a vision of a majestic court, most likely in a castle of some sort. I saw soldiers on guard around the long walkway leading to a throne with an opening at the back leading to two hallways. I looked at the doors to the outside, seeing a few shadowy figures.

"In less then a years time, in what you would have referred to as 219 AD, you will fulfil your duty to Wu by fighting in the Battle of Mt Ding Jun for Shu" Zuo Ci explained. I raised an eyebrow, watching the shadows walk in. As soon as they got in, the shadows started to dissipate from the feet up, slowly revealing the figures.

One was Liu Bei, walking in with a proud look on his face, another was Zhuge Liang and Zhao Yun, both by his side. Behind them were Nu Wa and Shinra, with Huang Zhong and myself nearby. I walked forward, getting Zuo Ci blocking me with his arm. "Watch and observe"

"Thank you for your aid, Lord Fu Xi" Bei spoke, taking his place on the throne and smiling at 'me'. "Without you, I feel that we would have been overwhelmed by Cao Cao's Reinforcements"

"I don't think you would Lord Liu Bei" 'I' replied, smiling. "You've got some good officers here. I just gave you a little extra manpower"

"Ah, come on Fu. When My lord is the one praising you, you know you have impressed someone" Nu Wa spoke.

"Felt good to be fighting alongside you once more" Shinra continued, turning to 'me' and smiling. "Why don't you join us full time?" 'I' blinked, pausing in the middle of the room and crossing my arms.

"Leave Wu and Join Shu...it's tempting I'm not going to lie" 'I' spoke, looking between them, a butterfly flying in front of me.

Everything suddenly stopped. And I don't mean stopped moving I mean literally stopped. I think the best way to put it is pause a game in the middle of gameplay and that's what you get. The butterfly was stuck in mid air. Zuo Ci moved his arm away, pacing around the room.

"You can move around. You can not physically touch anything as this does not exist" I blinked, walking around the room.

"If this is fake, then tell me why'd you stop me moving?"

"Because it was something you needed to see. They would ask you to join them...at the crossroads of your destiny" He walked through Liu Bei's image, the figure flickering as he did so. I stood near me, running my hand through myself several times. "You have a choice...either agree and Join Shu...or walk away and remain in Wu" I looked over at Zuo Ci, seeing him throwing a second card up.

"So what if I stay in Shu at this point?"

He smiled, the card he threw up slicing through the air before the scene changed much like it did before. This time the scene faded in quicker, revealing a ruined village in a rainstorm, the ground soaked to the core. I looked around, seeing Red Hare carrying Guan Yu, the warrior slicing his way through Cao Cao's soldiers. He was heavily surrounded, and chances were as it was he was going to lose.

Suddenly, a soldier clad in silver came flying in out of nowhere, wielding a two bladed sword and slashing his way through the crowd, a hood covering his head.. Guan Yu rode through a gap in the crowd, the new figure jumping out.

"Thank you for the assistance" Guan Yu spoke, the warrior doing a small bow on horseback.

"Any time Lord Guan Yu" The soldier spoke, jumping away from the enemy and pulling the blades apart. He had a deep voice, one that was showing signs of strain. A Shu Soldier ran up to the pair, kneeling by Guan Yu.

"Wu soldiers have arrived to assist" he reported. Guan Yu smiled at this, the hooded man not reacting.

"Perfect, they will allow us to crush the garrison"

"No" the hooded man spoke, swinging his blades at 2 enemy soldiers, cleaving them apart. "If I know Meng, they aren't here to help. Hope your ready to fight on two front, Guan" Guan Yu spun Blue Dragon in his hand.

"I am ready for anything Lord Fu Xi..."

Wait, what? The hood falls down to reveal...me...with more of a beard then I currently had. I looked like a man possessed, ready to fight and die at any moment. Zuo Ci walked through 'me' and held his cards in front of him.

"The year 219, You would be sent to assist Lord Guan Yu's assault on Cao Cao's stronghold of Fan Castle, where you would have your first skirmish with Wu forces. Not only would you save Lord Guan Yu, but you would be ultimately be responsible for the fall of Luo Yang and Xu Chang the very next year" We could end the war in 3 years? Really? The scene fades again, this time changing to a camp on fire. I can see myself running around, gathering soldiers together and charging towards a Wu line.

"The Year 221. after tense relations between the Eastern Wu Empire and The Shu Han Dynasty, Wu attacks Shu at Yi Ling. You again show your skills, routing the majority of the Wu army alone, capturing numerous high ranking generals, including Lord Sun Quan and Lady Shang Xiang. The year after, Liu Bei restores the Han over the country, thus ending the age of the Three Kingdoms"

The Scene fades to shadows once more, everything disappearing save for myself and Zuo Ci. "One year later, you and those whom you came to China with, so to speak, disappear from the face of the land, never to be seen again. Unknown to them, you found your way home upon the unification of China, and sought to leave the country in a position where you all disappearing made the least amount of disturbance"

Wait. So if I join Shu we finish the war and get home in 4 years? Wow...I'm shocked to be honest. I thought we'd be stuck here longer then that. We could push Cao Cao out of the war and be done with this mess. And I'm sure that if I worked at it I could make sure Wu and Shu remained at peace and we'd still be able to go home in one piece.

It could work...but there was something that was still bothering me...or rather someone.

"Tell me something" I spoke. He stopped walking, looking at me. "What if I went back to Wu?" Zuo Ci threw a card up again, this time going straight to the sodden village scene. This time it was bluntly me, as I'm dressed now, but with the gauntlets on, running around with an officer with two halberds. He was injured somehow.

"Come on Pang De" 'I' told him. Pang De? Wasn't he the guy who used to be with Ma Chao until Xi Liang Fell? "We've got to be near allies by now"

"We should be turning and fighting them until the end, Lord Fu Xi" He replied, having to use one of his halberds to balance himself at times. "The Warrior in me is not accustomed to this manner of battle"

"Lord Pang De, whilst it may go against your code, discretion the better part of valour. Cao Cao still needs you, and I'd rather you live and fight later then die fighting now" Pang De nodded, having to stop and rest on one of his Halberds. 'I' stopped as well, turning to him and putting a hand on his shoulder. "You OK?"

"Just a bit winded. Wouldn't be surprised some of the rubble hit me when the flood hit"

"And that really should have killed you, Lord Pang De" A new figured approached. We all turned, seeing Shinra, walking up to us with swords drawn. "Guess I will have to do it now"

The scene paused at this, raindrops floating in the air. Zuo Ci walked towards them, his face full of sorrow. "Yet again, the battle of Fan. After Returning to Wu, Ties become strained, and You will be forced into a battle assisting Cao Cao's force against Shu. In the battle, not only do you kill Lord Guan Yu and Guan Ping, but you also kill your friend, Lord Shinra" I what?

"No way in hell would I kill Shinra" I tell Zuo Ci.

He waves his hand, the scene changing to one in a paused shot, with me stabbing him through the chest with my spear, one of his swords shattered between us. I recoil, shaking my head. There is no way in hell this is true. I would never kill Simon. Not even if things got this bad.

The scene changes once more, now the camp in flames as I stand alone, facing down someone I thought I never would: Nu. I'm holding my great-sword as she holds her Rapier and shield, both of us ready to fight.

"At Yi Ling, after Wu's betrayal of Liu Bei, Lu Xun takes command and sets the dreams of Shu ablaze, destroying the army facing down your army" He points me somewhere. I turn, seeing Shang Xiang slumped against a house, arrow sticking out of her chest. "Not only is Lord Gan Ning killed by an arrow from Lord Sha Moke, but Lady Shang Xiang is shot by Lady Nu before either of you can react" I walked over to Shang Xiang's body, kneeling next to it and seeing her, eyes open wide. I move my hand over them, wanting to close them, but then realise that I can't as she flickers. "Not only do you and Lady Nu Wa engage in active combat against one another"

"I don't think you need to know the result..." He walks around, and I can tell he's grinning. I want that answer.

"Tell me" I demanded, walking over to him. He sighed, throwing a card up and letting the scene change again.

"As you and Nu fight, both of you inflict crippling wound after crippling wound upon one another...and then a last desperate attack ensures the end of the battle"

The scene comes back...and it's not what I wanted to see. 'I'm' swinging my great-sword down upon her skull, and the way things look, there is no chance of her dodging. Her face shows that she's in terror, and mine is full of anger. We're both swimming in injuries, our blood mixing upon the ground, with broken weapons all over the place. I didn't recoil this time, but I looked away. I was responsible for Nu's death here.

"I think this speaks for itself" He spoke. I turned around, walking around in frustration. "So far, everything you have ever wanted here is going to be destroyed down this path...However, this is not where the tale ends" He threw a card up again, the scene now changing to a throne room...the one at Jian Ye.

But there was a major thing different this time...

I was sat on it instead of Quan.

"Distraught over the death of his sister, and the death of his sons, Quan commits suicide 2 years after. Wu is left to it's last heir..." He turned to me, walking a bit more. "You...as Wu falls deeper and deeper into a state of isolation among the three kingdoms, and with the deaths of your friends weighing heavy on your mind, you commit Wu to one last desperate act...Every soldier, regardless of where they are stationed or how experienced they are, is committed to an attack on What remains of Cao Cao's Empire...Stopped by the bastion of He Fei Castle by land, and unable to mount a naval strike into anything beyond Xu Province, Wu attacks Jing...and is crushed between Shu and the empire, leaving the pair to divide Wu up as they can...the kingdom of Wu dies in the year 220...Shu and Wei follow it in the year 234 after a Coup d'etat by Officers tired of the stalemate between the two kingdoms"

….I was speechless...I ultimately led to Wu's destruction whichever path I choose. I looked to one side, thinking things over. Going to Shu would lead to the war ending quickly, staying in Wu would lead to hell...was this what Shang Xiang...

Why was I doubting myself? I knew what I wanted, and where I was happy. I looked to Zuo Ci, nodding as he threw another card up, this time the scene changing to what we were at before, Hell Runner Neighing as we appeared.

"Now you see why you need to think on the future sooner rather then later" He told me. I sighed, nodding and walking over to my horse.

"You know what Zuo Ci...I think I know what I'm going to do" I climbed on the saddle, nodding.

"So what do you plan to do?" He looked at me expectantly, wanting an answer. I smiled, turning to him.

"I'll defy your fate" He recoiled at this, but his face didn't change. "What you call my destiny is never set in stone. We are the Scions of our own destiny, and only we can decide what that is"

"How can you..."

"Very easily. You may think that my destiny is going to be one thing or the other, but you know what...it's not" I urged Hell runner to start walking, cracking my neck. "I'll show you that Wu can win...without all this shit happening" He gave me a quick look over as I moved away.

"Do you truly believe that you can change your fate?" I nodded, giving him a stare. "Then I shall keep watching...and see if you keep your word, Lord Fu Xi"

He disappeared at this point, leaving a puff of black smoke. I coughed a few times, trying to keep the smoke out my lungs as I rode out, shaking my head. Couldn't he just make a normal exit?

_Why did he tell me all of that? Just what was he after?_

_I always believed that the future was what you made it to be...and I stuck to it..._

_but I had made my choice...and I'd make sure of one thing_

_his predictions would fall flat._


End file.
